JP2000322343A - Method and device for transmitting electronic mail, and recording medium for storing program for transmitting electronic mail - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit and preserve only the absolute minimum data while supporting the arrangement of items to be duplicatedly communicated to plural destinations and items to be individually communicated even when they are complicated. SOLUTION: This method comprises a document data preparing process S104 for preparing document data divided into plural business data, a section name defining process S105 for defining a section name for each business data in the document data prepared by the document data preparing process S104, a link setting process S109 for relating the section names each other to be transmitted to plural mail addresses, and a transmitting process for each section for synthesizing the sections designated for each mail address by the link setting process, and for transmitting it to the mail address.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting electronic mail, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus suitable for transmitting duplicated tasks to a large number of people.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, communication means by e-mail via a network has been widely used as a social infrastructure regardless of whether it is for business or private use. In particular, if you have a large-scale project in the field of research or business,
E-mail is widely used because unlike e-mails, e-mail can make necessary contacts even when the other party is absent and is easier than facsimile. In other words, there is no need for both parties to be present at the same time like a telephone and keep in touch with each other, and work can be completed in a shorter time than facsimile transmission. Has been done.

[0003] Such batch transmission of e-mails is mainly performed on a screen for creating an outgoing e-mail displayed by executing an e-mail program, usually in a TO column (a column for entering a destination e-mail address), a "," delimiter or the like. By sequentially entering the e-mail addresses of the destinations, the contents of the created e-mail are transmitted collectively to the destinations described in the TO column. For example, "TO: a1@bbb.co.j
p, a2@bbb.co.jp, a3@bbb.co.jp,… ”. Usually, a copy of the content of the transmitted mail is stored as data.

[0004] Further, there is a mechanism called a mailing list. When an e-mail is sent to a pre-registered member to one mail address, a mail server sorts the mail and sends it to all the pre-registered members. The e-mail is transmitted.

[0005] The method of transmitting electronic mails of the same content to a large number of persons at once has the following disadvantages. That is, if there is a content that should not be notified to a certain person for each confirmation, the batch transmission cannot be used, and in this case, the mail must be transmitted individually. For example, one e-mail (document data) in which a plurality of messages a, b, and c are described is transmitted to a plurality of destinations A, B, C, and
... At this time, message A is sent to destination A, message b is sent to destination B, and message c is sent to destination C.
May be kept secret. In such a case, an e-mail containing only the messages b and c at the destination A, only the messages a and c at the destination B, and only the messages a and b at the destination C is created. Need to be sent individually.

[0006] The content of the individually transmitted document is
Originally, this is the content described in one e-mail, which may be the requirement a or the requirement b for each destination. Therefore, each of the transmitted e-mail of the task a, the e-mail of the task b,... Needs to be individually recorded as e-mail data or document data in a recording device such as a hard disk device of a computer. The recording capacity is consumed in an extremely large amount in a short period of time.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 06-291779 discloses that, in broadcast transmission, a part of the basic document data is selected, and another document data is additionally described in the basic document data. An electronic mail system that broadcasts document data with various changes to a desired destination is disclosed. In this conventional example, the document data can be transmitted to many destinations while adding different document data for each transmission destination to the basic document data.

[0008]

However, in this conventional example, since a part of the basic document data is changed for each destination, for example, all the requirements for a certain project are described. Processing such as transmitting each message to a necessary destination cannot be performed. That is, in the above-described conventional example, there is an inconvenience that it is difficult to eliminate unnecessary duplication when items to be communicated are complicated. Also, in such a state, even when using general mail transmission software, e-mail must be created one by one, so that all necessary items are ready to be transmitted to a required destination. There is an inconvenience that the confirmation of whether or not the operation is complicated.

[0009] In addition, all the notices are described,
If the destination is described in the body of the mail, it will not be possible to keep secrets for each business, and since data that is not required to be transmitted will be transmitted, unnecessary traffic on the Internet or LAN will occur. Let me,
There was an inconvenience.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve the disadvantages of the prior art, especially when there is a conflict between the items to be communicated to a large number of destinations and those to be individually communicated. It is another object of the present invention to provide an e-mail transmission method and apparatus capable of transmitting and storing only necessary minimum data while assisting the organization.

[0011]

Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a document data creating step in which document data divided into a plurality of task data is created, and each of the document data created in the document data creating step is included in the document data creating step. A section name defining step for defining a section name in the message data, a link setting step for associating a section name to be transmitted to each of a plurality of e-mail addresses, and a section designated for each e-mail address in the link setting step And a section-by-section transmission step of synthesizing and sending the mail to the mail address. This aims to achieve the above-mentioned object.

First, document data for each of a plurality of business data is created. Then, a section name is defined in the section name defining step. As a result, the document data becomes a set of a plurality of sections. Subsequently, the link setting step associates a section name of a section to be transmitted to a plurality of e-mail addresses. The e-mail address may be configured so that a necessary address is selected from e-mail addresses stored in an address book or the like,
In addition, all email addresses may be entered, or if an instruction is given to reply to the "batch transmission" for an already received email, the sender of the received email may be sent. May be added to the list one after another. When a list of e-mail addresses to be transmitted is generated by some method, a section name is given to each e-mail address in the link setting step. One or more section names are defined for one mail address. In the link setting step, when the section names are defined for all the e-mail addresses to be transmitted, the section-by-section transmission step controls the transmission of the contents of the section defined for each e-mail address to each e-mail address. I do. For this reason, after describing all the items to be contacted by a large number of users, the user is individually contacted by associating a section indicating a message for each e-mail address. In addition, since it is possible to manage who sends what message to the user in relation to the e-mail address and the section, it is easy to organize complicated communication items.

[0013]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an e-mail transmission device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The electronic mail transmitting apparatus is a hardware, a central processing unit 1 for controlling execution of the entire apparatus.
0 (Micro Processor Unit: hereinafter referred to as “MPU10”); an input unit 16 including devices such as a keyboard for inputting data and a mouse for inputting instructions;
A first storage unit 19a for storing basic software (Operating System: hereinafter referred to as "O / S") or an e-mail transmission program, and various data and parameters necessary for the execution thereof; A second storage means 19b which may store mail, text documents and other document data, and a random access memory (RAM) which provides a working area necessary for executing an e-mail program
And the like, and the output unit 18 such as a monitor device, a printer device, and a speaker.
The output interface unit 17 appropriately outputs a display output signal, a print output signal, a voice output signal, and the like based on the instruction.

The first storage means 19a is a computer-readable non-volatile recording medium which may store an O / S or e-mail transmission program and various data, parameters, and the like necessary for execution thereof. In particular,
ROM (Read Only Memory), magnetic disk (Flexible
Disk / Floppy Disk), Hard Disk (Hard DiskDr)
ive), CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ROM), DVD-
ROM (Digital Video Disc-ROM), DVD-RAM
(Digital Video Disc-RAM), magneto-optical disc (Magnet)
o-Optical Disk), EPROM (Erasable Programmabl)
e Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically E
rasable programmable read only memory), flash memory, smart card (registered trademark), smart memory (registered trademark), compact flash card, or any other recording medium. Generally, a hard disk is used. The second storage unit 19b has a similar configuration for storing O / S, e-mail, text documents, and other document data.

The third storage means 20 provides a working area necessary for executing the e-mail program, and temporarily stores data and various calculation results required for executing the e-mail program.
A computer-readable recording medium that can be stored, specifically, SIMM, DIMM, SDRA
Readable and writable RAM (Random Acc.
ess Memory), but a hard disk or the like may be used.

In the present invention, the first storage means 19a and the second storage means 19b may be formed as the same recording medium. Further, the recording medium formed as the same recording medium is simply referred to as “e-mail recording unit 19”. The e-mail recording unit 19 stores and records the created document data (not limited to e-mail data, but also includes text data, word processing document data, and other data relating to any document). When the document data is printed on the printing unit 18a such as a printer, the spool data is temporarily recorded, the address list data of the e-mail of the transmission destination is set and recorded, and various other setting values are set. Be recorded.

The input unit 16 is a device for inputting text data and an appropriate command command in the electronic mail transmitting device of the present invention. For example, a pen input means 16a (a so-called touch panel provided above the liquid crystal screen) composed of a pen-type input device such as a light pad, a device input means 16b such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a voice signal input from a microphone are subjected to voice synthesis. Any one of the voice input means 16c that converts the data into text data or various command commands by analyzing with an LSI or the like, or a combination thereof can be applied. The input unit 16 transmits text data or various command commands to the MPU 10 as appropriate. At this time, regardless of the standard or non-standard, a connector to which the input unit 16 can be connected,
An input interface unit 15 that provides a cable, a pin jack, or another physical interface may be provided, and data transmission with the MPU 10 via the bus B may be performed.

The output unit 18 is an output device such as a monitor device and a printer device in the electronic mail transmitting device of the present invention. For example, character display, CRT,
A display unit 18a including a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or a plasma display device;
Line printer, laser printer, page printer,
A printing unit 18b composed of a thermal printer, a stand-alone printer, a network printer, or any other printer, a voice synthesizer that analyzes a voice output signal with a voice synthesis LSI or the like and outputs the voice as a human audible voice, or simply a voice synthesizer. Any one of audio output means 18c such as a speaker that converts an audio output signal into audio and outputs the audio, or a combination thereof can be applied, but is not limited thereto. The output of the output unit 18 is appropriately controlled by the MPU 10. In that case, regardless of standard or non-standard,
An output interface unit 17 that provides a connector, a cable, a pin jack, and other physical interfaces to which the output unit 18 can be connected may be provided, and data transmission with the MPU 10 via the bus B may be performed.

The output interface unit 17 includes, for example,
The connection of the display means 18a is realized by a connector or cable for connection to a monitor. Further, the present invention can be realized by an image processing board, a VRAM board (Video RAM), or the like. When connecting the printing means 18b, D
-Sub 25 pin, Amphenol 36 pin, Half pitch 36 pin, Mini DIN 8 pin, US
B, RS422, Centronics or other connectors or cables. In addition, LAN (Loca
10BASE-T, 10BASE-5, transceiver cable, LAN card or any other connector, cable, or network adapter card for connecting to a network N such as an Area Network) or WAN (Wide Area Network) and outputting to a network printer. It may be realized, but is not limited to these.

In this specification, "network N" means LAN, WAN, remote access, PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), leased line network, Internet, personal computer communication network, or any other configuration. The concept includes a communication network.

Next, each functional unit based on the execution of the e-mail program stored in the e-mail recording unit 19 will be described. In FIG. 1, a document data creation unit 11 includes one or both of a mail creation unit 11a that creates, edits, and saves an electronic mail document, and a document creation unit that creates, edits, and saves a document other than an electronic mail. .

Further, there is provided a section setting means 12a for setting a part selected in the text of the document data created by the document data creating section 11 as a "section".
Further, there is provided a destination designation means 12b which can input, edit, add, delete, change, select, and designate an arbitrary destination mail address from the input section 16. In this specification, the section setting unit 12a and the transmission destination specification unit 12b may be collectively referred to as a "data specification unit 12." In addition, data designating section 1
Various data set or specified by the user 2 may be recorded and stored in the e-mail recording unit 19 in a computer-readable manner.

Next, a part of the contents of the document data body (hereinafter referred to as "section data") set by the section setting means 12a and the mail address of the destination to which the section data is to be transmitted are corresponded. A link setting unit 13 for setting and storing the information is provided. The link setting unit 13 associates who (to which e-mail address) and which section data (single or plural) are to be transmitted based on an instruction input from the input unit 16, and The setting is saved as link data in the electronic mail recording unit 19 in a computer-readable manner. At this time, the settings may be saved as a database.

The mail sending section 14 is connected to the network N and sends an electronic mail. Specifically, a mail server or DNS (not shown) existing in the network N
(Domain name server), etc.
A network address (such as an IP address) corresponding to the domain of the destination mail address is obtained. Then, the network address is included in the header information of the transmitted e-mail, and the e-mail is transmitted.

The mail sending unit 14 may send a plurality of electronic mails to the network N at once. At this time, the mail sending unit 14 sequentially reads out the link data recorded in the e-mail recording unit 19, reads out the contents (business) relating to which section data to the destination mail address to be transmitted from now on, and reads out the e-mail. An inquiry is made to the MPU 10 as to whether to form data.

The MPU 10 reads out link data corresponding to the destination mail address to be transmitted from the electronic mail recording unit 19 based on the electronic mail transmission program. Then, the MPU 10 reads out the corresponding section data and controls the mail sending unit 14 so as to include the section data in the text of the e-mail to be transmitted. The mail sending unit 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a destination mail address, a sender mail address, a subject, a text data format, a transmission time and other header information each time an electronic mail is transmitted, and read section data (a plurality of pieces may be included). In this case, the e-mail data is composed of the sender's name, company name and other footer information.

That is, when the first electronic mail is transmitted, all the section data associated with the destination address of the electronic mail are read out and transmitted as one electronic mail. When the second and subsequent e-mails are transmitted, the above steps are repeated, and the e-mail data is sequentially formed and transmitted.

The transmitted e-mail is conventionally recorded and stored as a copy with the transmitted content unchanged, but the electronic mail transmitting apparatus of the present invention uses the transmitted content as a copy as it is. Does not store email data. That is, the document data created or saved by the document data creation unit 11, the sections set in the document data, and the corresponding link data are only recorded and saved in the email recording unit 19.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a relationship between each data recorded and stored or set and recorded in the electronic mail recording section 19 (or the second storage means 19b). First, each of the sections set by the section setting means 12a is:
With the start logical address and end logical address of a portion of the contents of the corresponding document data (for example, every requirements), are sequentially set recorded in the section table 19b _1. For example,
Section 1 which is the first predetermined range selected in the content of the document data body by the instruction input from the input unit 16
Is set and recorded that the logical address of the document data body is from 01BF to 025D. At this time,
In some cases, text data (business data) included in the range is replaced with a logical address or set and recorded together.

Next, each of the email address specified by the destination specifying unit 12b, sometimes as a mail address table 19b ₂ are set recorded in the electronic mail recording unit 19. Specifically, the destination specification means 19b ₂
According to the input from the input unit 16, a new e-mail address is additionally registered, or an already registered e-mail address is edited, deleted, changed, copied, copied or pasted, or clicked. The specified or selected mail address is read out as appropriate.

The section table 19b ₁ and the destination specifying means 19b ₂ are associated with each other by the link setting unit 13. More specifically, for example, the task data “patch input, log monitoring, file update” set as section 1 in which the logical address of the document data body is recorded in the range of 01BF to 025D is “1 @
nec.co.jp "and destination 3" zzz@nec.co.jp "(see FIG. 3). Similarly, the subject data “center contact, command input, log monitoring” set as section 2 in which the logical address of the document data body is recorded in the range of 02C4 to 02FB is the transmission destination 1 “xxx @ nec.
co.jp "and destination 2" yyy@nec.co.jp ". Similarly, the logical address of the document data body is 04
Section 3 recorded in the range from A5 to 0511
The business data “Head office correspondence, customer correspondence, vendor correspondence” that is set as “Destination 2“ yyy@nec.co.jp ”and Destination 3“ z
zz@nec.co.jp ".

In the present specification, data related to the above-mentioned association may be particularly referred to as “link data”. The link data is stored in an e-mail recording unit 19 according to a command from the MPU 10 based on a request from the link setting unit 13.
Is recorded. Aspects of the setting record, as in FIG. 3, the destination and the primary key (or index), it and the first link table 19b ₃ of the type that stores the number of the corresponding section, the sections primary key (or in the index), as the second link table 19b ₄ of the type that stores the destination, but it may be set recorded in the electronic mail recording unit 19 is not limited to this structure.

The link data is set and recorded by allocating a storage area for each document data to be transmitted. Therefore, for different document data, even if the same index of “section 1”, “section 2”, etc. is used, link data is surely set for each document data without any confusion, confusion, or false detection. Can be recorded.

Next, in the electronic mail transmitting apparatus of the present invention, one form of a series of operation modes from actually creating document data, setting a section, and transmitting the created electronic mail will be described. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 show an execution flowchart of the e-mail transmission program of the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows an example of a display of a document data creation screen when the e-mail transmission program of the present invention is started. Based on the instruction of MPU10,
The document data creation unit 11 outputs a display output signal for displaying the display area 30 as a window to the output interface unit 17 (S100). If the display unit 18a is connected to the output interface unit 17, the display area 30 is displayed on the display unit 18a (S101).

The display area 30 is roughly composed of three frames (S102). The leftmost side as viewed from the operator is a section area (section name display area) 30a for inputting an instruction to set a section.
In the center of the view from the operator, a text area (document data display area) 30b for inputting the text of the e-mail to be transmitted, etc.
It is. The far right side as viewed from the operator is a destination area (e-mail address display area) 30c in which a mail address of a partner who wants to transmit a part or all of the content input in the body area 30b as an e-mail is displayed.

First, the body area 30b is focused, and input is enabled from the input unit 16 such as a keyboard and a mouse (S103). Next, type an acronym as the content common to all the transmission destinations, for example, "This is the first group of the system. I will do the following work." At this time, a configuration may be adopted in which voice input from a microphone or the like is recognized, converted into text data, and input. In the lower part of the text, enter the concluding sentence "Thank you, thank you."

Next, the contents of the business that varies depending on the destination are input (S104, document data creation step). For example, if you want to ask someone
Enter Patch submission, log monitoring, and file update.
The input request content is referred to as “message 1 data 30b ₁ ”. Similarly, the work you would like to ask another person to do is
Enter Center contact, command input, log monitoring. The content of the input request is described as “Message 2 data 30
b ₂ ". Further, as a work to be requested to another person, "Correspondence to head office, correspondence to customer, correspondence to vendor" is input. The content of the input request is described as “Matter 3 data 30
b ₃ ". Thereafter, there is no restriction on the input of the message data.

When the input of the text is completed, the section is set (S105, section name definition step).
For example, in the section area 30a, a start point and an end point at which the contents of the text are to be logically divided are specifically designated by an instruction input from the input unit 16. At this time, the displayed mouse pointer P may be dragged into the section area 30a by the input unit 16 such as a mouse or the like, and a corresponding range may be designated and input (see FIG. 6). In some cases, the corresponding range can be input by instruction input or data input from a keyboard, but preferably both are always used. Set each section was is set recorded in the section table 19b ₁ (S106).

Assuming that sections are sequentially set in this way, the section setting means 12a assigns each of the set sections to a GUI (Graphical User Interpretation).
display control to display the first section identifier 30a ₁ , the second section identifier 30a ₂ , the third section identifier 30a ₃ ,... so as to be easily recognized by the worker (see FIG. 7, S107). ). Each of these section identifiers 30a ₁ , 30a ₂ , 30a ₃ ,.
For example, it may be an arrow, an icon representing a button may be displayed, a thick straight line may be used, or any other form of characters, figures, symbols, buttons, icons, and the like may be used.

Here, if there is a part to be shown or a part not to be shown depending on the transmission destination, in the section area 30a,
In some cases, the section is dragged and inverted by the input unit 16 such as a mouse, and section setting is performed from the start point and the end point. Also, the concluding part of “Thank you for your understanding” that may be described in the lower part of the text is set and stored in the e-mail recording unit 19 so as to be described in all the destinations. In some cases, on the contrary, the configuration may be such that it is not described in the settings.

Next, the transmission destination specifying means 12b displays the mail addresses as transmission destination candidates set and recorded in the electronic mail recording section 19 in the transmission destination area 30c (see FIG. 7, S108). Here, a new e-mail address is additionally registered, an already registered e-mail address is edited, deleted, changed, duplicated, copied, or pasted, based on an input from the input unit 16 such as a keyboard. The mail address specified or selected according to an operation such as a click can be read as appropriate.

Next, a description will be given of the correspondence between each set section and each destination mail address. The following, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, the destination e-mail address to "xxx@nec.co.jp" and the first destination 30c _1, the destination e-mail address to "yyy@nec.co.jp" the second destination 30c ₂
And, to the destination e-mail address to "zzz@nec.co.jp" and the third destination 30c _3.

Firstly, the business 1 data 30b ₁ is set as the first section [see FIG. 8 (A)]. The first section identifier 30a ₁ corresponding, by an instruction input from the input unit 16, drag on the destination mail address that you want to send the destination area 30c [see FIG. 8 (B), the
S109]. As a result, the link setting unit 13 sets the message 1
The data 30b ₁ (first section) is the first destination 30
it is determined that the content to be sent to c _1, associates the two so as to set recording the link data in the e-mail recording unit 19 requests the MPU 10. The MPU10
Sets and records the link data unless there are special circumstances such as the lack of free space in the e-mail recording unit 19 (S110, link setting step). If no abnormality is found in the link data, the transmission destination specifying unit 12b stores the first transmission destination 3 in the transmission destination area 30c.
In the lower position 0c _1, performs control to display the fact that the first section is associated (S 111).

Next, the corresponding first section identifier 30
a₁Is changed according to an instruction input from the input unit 16.
Drag on the destination mail address you want to send in area 30c
[Refer to FIG. 9A, S109]. This allows
The task setting unit 13 sends the message 1 data 30b₁(First section
) Is the third destination 30c_ThreeContent that should be sent to
Is determined, the two are associated, and the link data is transmitted.
Instruct MPU 10 to set and record in child mail recording unit 19
Request. The MPU 10 has an empty e-mail recording unit 19.
Except when there are special circumstances such as lack of storage capacity
Then, the link data is set and recorded (S110). So
If no abnormalities are found in the link data of
The designating unit 12b performs the first transmission in the transmission destination area 30c.
Trust 30c ₁The first section corresponds to the position below
A control is performed to indicate that the operation has been performed [see FIG.
11].

Next, the corresponding second section identifier 30
The a _2, by the instruction input from the input unit 16, drag on the transmitted desired destination mail address of the destination area 30c [see FIG 10 (A), S109]. Accordingly, the link setting unit 13 determines that the message 2 data 30b ₂ (second section) is the content to be transmitted to the first transmission destination 30c ₁ , associates the two, and associates the link data. In order to record the settings in the e-mail recording unit 19, the MPU 10
Request to. The MPU 10 sets and records the link data unless there are special circumstances such as a shortage of free space in the e-mail recording unit 19 (S110).
If no abnormality is found in the link data, the transmission destination specifying means 12b sets the first destination in the transmission destination area 30c.
In the lower position the destination 30c _1, performs control to display the fact that the second section is associated with [see FIG. 10 (B), the
S111].

Next, the corresponding second section identifier 30
The a _2, by the instruction input from the input unit 16, drag on the transmitted desired destination mail address of the destination area 30c [FIG 11 (A) see, S109]. Thereby, the link setting unit 13 determines that the message 2 data 30b ₂ (second section) is the content to be transmitted to the second transmission destination 30c ₂ , associates the two and associates the link data with each other. In order to record the settings in the e-mail recording unit 19, the MPU 10
Request to. The MPU 10 sets and records the link data unless there are special circumstances such as a shortage of free space in the e-mail recording unit 19 (S110).
If no abnormalities are found in the link data, the destination specifying means 12b sets the second destination in the destination area 30c.
In the lower position the destination 30c _2, performs control to display the fact that the second section is associated with [(see FIG. 11 (B), S 111].

Next, the corresponding third section identifier 30
The a _3, by the instruction input from the input unit 16, drag on the destination mail address that you want to send the destination area 30c [FIG 12 (A) see, S109]. Accordingly, the link setting unit 13 determines that the message 3 data 30b ₃ (third section) is the content to be transmitted to the second destination 30c ₂ , associates the two, and associates the link data. In order to record the settings in the e-mail recording unit 19, the MPU 10
Request to. The MPU 10 sets and records the link data unless there are special circumstances such as a shortage of free space in the e-mail recording unit 19 (S110).
If no abnormalities are found in the link data, the destination specifying means 12b sets the second destination in the destination area 30c.
In the lower position the destination 30c _2, performs control to display the fact that the third section is associated [see FIG. 12 (B), the
S111].

Next, the corresponding third section identifier 30
The a _3, by the instruction input from the input unit 16, drag on the transmitted desired destination mail address of the destination area 30c [FIG 13 (A) see, S109]. Accordingly, the link setting unit 13 determines that the message 3 data 30b ₃ (third section) is the content to be transmitted to the third destination 30c ₃ , associates the two, and associates the link data. In order to record the settings in the e-mail recording unit 19, the MPU 10
Request to. The MPU 10 sets and records the link data unless there are special circumstances such as a shortage of free space in the e-mail recording unit 19 (S110).
If no abnormalities are found in the link data, the destination specifying means 12b sets the third destination in the destination area 30c.
The lower position of the destination 30c _3, performs control to display the fact that the third section is associated [see FIG. 13 (B),
S111].

Each section of the document data body and the destination mail address associated with each other as described above are independently stored and recorded in the electronic mail recording unit 19 (S112). For example, email sent to the first destination 30c _1, as of FIG. 14 (A), rather than being stored recorded to the e-mail recording unit 19 as coherent one electronic mail data, and the header portion , And only the footer portion, if applicable, is stored and recorded as e-mail data.

That is, in this case, the corresponding message 1 data 30b ₁ (first section) and the message 2 data 30b ₂
(Second section) is the business 1 created in FIG.
... Are linked as sections to the original document data including all the data. Accordingly, the message 1 data 30b ₁ (first section) and the message 2 data 30b ₂ (second section) are separately and independently provided.
It is not necessary to record and save the message in the body of the e-mail data.

The first destination 3 created as described above
For the e-mail addressed to 0c ₁ , the second destination 30c ₂ and the third destination 30c ₃ , for example, a transmission button 30d which may be provided below the destination area 30c is instructed and input by the input unit 16 such as a mouse. and (S113), for respective destination section data section set is read from the link table 19b ₃ or 19b ₄ (extracted), synthesized e-mail sent to the third storage means 20, is created (S114, section-by-section transmission step).
Then, as soon as transmission becomes possible in a protocol (including SMTP, RFC821, and any other mail transmission protocol) with a mail server (not shown) on the network N, each of the electronic mails is sequentially sent to the mail server (S115). Section-specific sending process).

Normally, when the transmission button 30d is instructed and input only once with the input unit 16 such as a mouse, each of the e-mails to be transmitted, which are recorded and stored in the e-mail recording unit 19, are gradually transmitted. (S116). Since the time for completing the transmission of one e-mail is extremely short, even when a large number of e-mails are transmitted, they are apparently transmitted almost all at once (or apparently broadcasted).

Each of the e-mails transmitted in this manner is separately and independently recorded and stored in the e-mail recording unit 19 as e-mail data including the message data for each transmission destination in its body as described above. do not have to. For example,
By clicking the destination mail address from the input unit 16 such as a mouse in the destination area 30c shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7 (S117), the contents of the e-mail transmitted to the destination are displayed in FIG. The display output signal may be controlled to be output to the output interface unit 17 so as to be displayed on the display unit 18a in the manner shown (S118).

More specifically [0055] If the first destination 30c ₁ is clicked, the first header to display the mail address. In the text, the first section (message 1 data 30b ₁ ) and the second section (message 2 data 30b) associated with the contents of the heading common to other e-mails
b ₂ ) is read out from the e-mail recording unit 19,
The whole is displayed as one set of e-mail data 40a (see FIG. 14A).

[0056] Similarly, if the second destination 30c ₂ is clicked, the first header to display the mail address. The body includes the contents of the heading common to other e-mails and the associated second section (message 2 data 30).
b ₂ ) and only the third section (message 3 data 30 b ₃ ) are read from the e-mail recording unit 19 and displayed as a single e-mail data 40 b [FIG.
4 (B)].

[0057] Similarly, if the third destination 30c ₃ is clicked, the first header to display the mail address. In the body text, the first section (the message 1 data 30
b ₁ ) and only the third section (message 3 data 30 b ₃ ) are read out from the e-mail recording unit 19 and displayed as one set of e-mail data 40 c [FIG.
4 (C)].

Here, each of the associated e-mails before being sent to the network N may be displayed in the same manner as the display after the transmission, as shown in FIG. (S119). The display method is the same as that in the case of transmission, so that the contents can be visually confirmed on the screen before transmission to the other party.

The e-mail transmission processing described above is realized by executing an e-mail transmission program on a computer (arithmetic device), and the e-mail transmission program is provided on a computer-readable recording medium. There is. Here, an example of the recording medium is shown in FIG. That is, the e-mail transmission program includes the hard disk 53, CD-ROM, MO, DVD-ROM, DVD
A disk-shaped recording medium 54 such as a RAM or a PD, a floppy disk 55, a memory chip 51 such as a RAM or a ROM,
It can be recorded and stored in a PROM, an EEPROM, a smart card (registered trademark), a smart media (registered trademark), a flash memory, a compact flash card, or another rewritable card type ROM 52, and can be read by a computer.

Then, a SCSI port (cable), USB port (cable), and IEEE 139 (not shown) are supplied from a disk drive (not shown) for reading data from the disk-shaped recording medium 54 or a floppy drive for reading data from the floppy disk 55 (not shown).
The e-mail transmission program can be transferred to the desktop computer 50 via four ports (cables) or the like. In this case, the hard disk 53 built in or externally attached to the desktop computer 50
In some cases, an electronic mail transmission program is recorded (copied) on a recording medium such as.

An e-mail transmission program that may be recorded on such a recording medium is computer-readable, and may be a personal computer, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a mobile computer, a laptop, for example. It may be a computer, a pocket computer, a server computer, a client terminal, a workstation, a host computer, a general-purpose computer, or any other computer.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the sections associated with the mail addresses are combined and transmitted, the message to be transmitted for each transmission destination is set and stored in association with the desired transmission destination mail address. Therefore, when an e-mail is transmitted, only a predetermined message associated with the destination is transmitted, so that only one message corresponding to each transmission destination can be transmitted in one transmission. Can tell. That is, first, the message data 30b ₁ , 30b ₂ ,
30b _3, it is possible to arbitrarily set store ... as section data. Then, the link setting unit 13 can set and store each of the section data set and stored in association with the mail addresses corresponding to the desired destinations 30c ₁ , 30c ₂ , 30c ₃ ,. As a result, when the e-mail is transmitted, only predetermined messages associated with each of the transmission destinations 30c ₁ , 30c ₂ , 30c ₃ ,. Thus, only the message corresponding to each of the transmission destinations can be reliably transmitted to the other party.

Further, since the mail is synthesized and transmitted when the mail is transmitted, only the mail body and the association between the section and the mail address before the synthesis are stored, and the transmitted e-mail data is individually stored in the e-mail recording unit 19. Therefore, the recording capacity of a recording medium such as a hard disk can be used extremely efficiently. That is, the mail sending unit 14 reads out the correspondence stored in the link setting unit 13 corresponding to each of the destination mail addresses, and transmits one or more section data as an e-mail. Therefore, even if one e-mail is not generated for each of the transmission destinations from the created document data, it is possible to correspond to each transmission destination by tracing the correspondence stored in the link setting unit 13. Only the necessary messages can be included in the body of the email.

As a result, there is no need to record and store all e-mail data for the number of transmission destinations in the e-mail recording unit 19 such as a hard disk, and there is an excellent advantage that resources can be used very efficiently. . Furthermore,
As a result of being able to save the recording capacity, there is also an excellent advantage that it is possible to satisfactorily create, edit, transmit, and view an e-mail without lowering the driving speed of the e-mail transmission device.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, an area for displaying a mail text, an area for displaying a section definition or a section name, an area for displaying a mail address, and displaying the mail address are provided. Since a section name is associated with each e-mail address in the area, the corresponding relationship between the corresponding section of the set section, the contents of the message corresponding to the section, and the destination e-mail address associated with the message Can be easily grasped, and the e-mail can be created while easily organizing when making duplicate contacts to many destinations.

That is, within one window, for example, three different areas 30a, 30b, 30 partitioned by frames.
In order to form c, which part is set as a section is clearly displayed in one frame, and section data as a message corresponding to each set section is also clearly displayed in one frame. Is done. Further, since the destination mail address is clearly displayed in one frame, an e-mail including only the message corresponding to each destination in the body can be transmitted to each destination more reliably. . The section set as a section, the contents of the message corresponding to the section, and the destination e-mail address can be managed for each window. This is particularly useful when using a 17-inch monitor or the like. By placing and operating a window at an arbitrary position, an e-mail containing only the message corresponding to each destination in the body can be more reliably transmitted to each destination.

Which item is set as a section,
In addition, since the operator can visually and easily confirm which item is associated with which item, a message that should not be transmitted to the other party is erroneously identified. The room for error such as transmission to the user can be significantly reduced or eliminated. For this reason, even if the transmitted message contains a highly confidential content, an email that contains only the message corresponding to each destination in the body while maintaining extremely high security is secured. , Can be more reliably transmitted to each of the transmission destinations.

An input unit 16 such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc. is provided.
In the example in which the message data 30b ₁ , 30b ₂ , 30b ₃ ,... Are set and stored as the first section, the second section,. business data 30b ₁ from a keyboard or the like, 30b _2, 30b _3, ... specifies the portion of the (selected) to, respectively can be set as a section. As a result, the e-mail transmission device of the present invention can be easily realized with a general electronic computing terminal such as a so-called personal computer that frequently performs daily operations without depending on a special dedicated terminal.

Further, in the example where the link setting unit 13 displays the contents of the e-mail before transmission and the contents of the e-mail after transmission on the monitor based on the instruction input from the input unit 16 such as a mouse and a keyboard, The operator can visually confirm before sending the e-mail whether each destination contains only a message with appropriate contents. You can do it again. Furthermore, since the operator can check the contents of the e-mail even after transmission, it is possible to double-check the contents, and input the history of who sent which message to whom using a mouse or the like. There is an extremely excellent advantage that the transmission destination can be easily known by clicking the transmission destination or the like in the section 16 and can be used as a database having a simple structure.

In the example in which the definition of the mail text and the section and the link information between the section name and the mail address are stored, it is not necessary to individually store the transmitted e-mail data in the e-mail recording unit 19, so that a hard disk or the like is used. The recording capacity of the recording medium can be used very efficiently. In other words, the section data is set and stored in association with each of the destination mail addresses, so that it is not necessary to generate one e-mail for each of the destinations from the created document data. By following the association stored and stored by the link setting unit 13, only the necessary items corresponding to each transmission destination can be included in the body of the e-mail.

As a result, there is no need to record and store all the e-mail data corresponding to the number of destinations in the e-mail recording unit 19 such as a hard disk, and there is an excellent advantage that resources can be used very efficiently. . Furthermore,
As a result of being able to save the recording capacity, it is possible to satisfactorily create, edit, transmit, and browse an e-mail without lowering the driving speed of the e-mail transmission device.

Further, the output interface unit has a display area for each destination for displaying the contents of the mail for each destination, and the document data creation unit combines the sections specified for each mail address and displays the contents for each destination. In the example with the function to display in the area, in order to display the full text of the transmission content assigned to each e-mail address for each section in the display area for each destination such as a certain window, read and confirm the transmission content Can be. In addition, a mark indicating that reading confirmation has been performed may be attached beside the mail address displayed in the mail address display area.

In this example, when the transmission data for each mail address displayed in the destination-specific display area is changed, the document data creation unit updates the mail text or transmits the mail to the mail address. It is preferable to have a function of updating one of the contents in accordance with a selection instruction for updating only the contents. That is, when the content to be corrected is found in the transmission content, the content of the section itself should be corrected, the content to be transmitted to all other destinations should be corrected, It is assumed that the transmission content should be corrected only when the transmission is completed. Therefore, if an edit is made while displaying the transmission content in the display area for each destination,
For example, an update target is received through an interface for selecting one of the two buttons as an update target. This also assists in organizing the contents of transmission when transmitting duplicated tasks to many people. And if it is instructed to change only a specific email address, the edited content is defined as a new section of the email body,
It is good to change the section name quoted to the e-mail address. Then, even if the process of receiving the update is performed, it is not necessary to store the transmission contents for each mail address.

As described above, in the example in which the document data creation unit combines the sections specified for each mail address and displays them in the display area for each destination, the contents of the e-mail before transmission and the contents of the e-mail after transmission are displayed. Since the contents can be displayed on the monitor, the operator can visually confirm that each destination contains only the proper contents before sending the e-mail. If there is, the document data creating unit 11 can appropriately edit the document again. In addition, since the worker can check the contents of the e-mail even after transmission, it is possible to double-check the contents,
It can also be used as a database with a simple structure.

[0075]

According to the present invention, the section name is defined for all the e-mail addresses to be transmitted in the link setting step, and each section is defined in the section-specific transmitting step. To control the synthesis of the contents of the section defined in the e-mail address and send it to each e-mail address, the user describes all the items that should be contacted by a large number of people and then indicates the requirements for each e-mail address By linking sections, everyone can be contacted individually, and who to send which message can be managed in relation to email addresses and sections, so that complicated communication items can be organized. Easier, and
By storing only the relation between the text and the section for each email address, the contents sent to each email address can be grasped, so the storage capacity used when saving is reduced, and unnecessary duplicate content is also saved. Because it is not sent to everyone, it does not unnecessarily increase the traffic on the Internet, and therefore, when there are multiple destinations that need to be communicated and those that need to be communicated individually are complicated. However, it is possible to provide an unprecedented excellent e-mail transmission method that can transmit and save only the minimum necessary data while supporting the arrangement.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a control mode of each table by a data designation unit and a link setting unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of a link setting unit.

FIG. 4 is an execution flowchart of an electronic mail transmission program of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an execution flowchart of an electronic mail transmission program of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of setting a section in a display area after an e-mail transmission program is started.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display area after section setting is completed.

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display mode of a display area when a first section is designated;
(B) is a schematic diagram showing an example of an aspect of associating a first section with a first destination.

FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display mode of a display area when a first section is designated;
(B) is a schematic diagram showing an example of a mode of associating a first section with a third destination.

FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display mode of a display area when a second section is designated, and FIG. 10B is a mode in which a second section is associated with a first destination; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example.

FIG. 11A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display mode of a display area when a second section is designated, and FIG. 11B is a mode in which a second section is associated with a second transmission destination; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example.

FIG. 12A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display mode of a display area when a third section is designated, and FIG. 12B is a mode in which the third section is associated with a second transmission destination; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example.

FIG. 13A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display mode of a display area when a third section is designated;
(B) is a schematic diagram showing an example of an aspect of associating a third section with a third destination.

FIG. 14A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display mode of the content of an e-mail sent (or transmitted) to a first destination, and FIG. FIG. 14C is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display mode of the content of the e-mail sent (or transmitted), and FIG. 14C is a display mode of the content of the e-mail transmitted (or transmitted) to the third destination; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a possible mode of a recording medium in which the electronic mail transmission program of the present invention may be recorded.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 document data creation unit 12a section setting means 13 link setting unit 14 the mail sending unit 16 input unit 17 output interface section 18 output section 30 display areas 30a, 30b, 30c regions 30a _1, 30a _2, 30a ₃ section identifier 30b _1, 30b ₂ , 30b ₃ business data

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A document data creating step in which document data divided into a plurality of task data is created, and a section name is defined for each of the task data in the document data created in the document data creating step. Section name definition process
A link setting step of associating a section name to be transmitted with each of a plurality of e-mail addresses, a section transmission step of synthesizing a section designated for each e-mail address in the link setting step, and transmitting the synthesized section to the e-mail address An e-mail transmission method comprising: 2. A document data creation unit for creating and holding document data in which a plurality of messages are described as message data in units of blocks, and the document data created by the document data creation unit contains the message data. A section setting unit that defines a section name in units of: and a mail transmission control unit that controls transmission of message data whose section is defined by the section setting unit to a plurality of e-mail addresses. Has a section-by-section sending function for synthesizing a section designated for each mail address and sending the combined section to the mail address. 3. The document data creation unit according to claim 1, wherein a list of a plurality of e-mail addresses is set to one or two for each e-mail address.
3. An electronic mail transmitting apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a link setting unit for associating said sections. 4. The electronic mail transmitting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the section setting unit has an attached file defining function of defining a section name in an attached file attached to the mail address. 5. A document data display area for displaying document data held by the document data creation section, a mail address display area for displaying the plurality of mail addresses, and a document displayed in the document data display area. An output interface unit having a section name display area for displaying the definition of the section name is provided along with the document data creation unit, and the link setting unit sets the mail address displayed in the plurality of mail address display areas to the mail address. 4. The electronic mail transmitting device according to claim 3, further comprising a link input function for associating the section name with the mail address when the section name displayed in the section name display area is input. 6. An input unit having a keyboard or a mouse is provided on the output interface unit, and the link setting unit converts the message data from the text of the document data based on an instruction input from the input unit. 1st section, 2nd
6. The electronic mail transmitting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the section data is set and stored as the section data such as sections. 7. The destination interface according to claim 1, wherein the output interface unit includes a display area for each destination that displays the contents of the mail for each destination, and the document data creation unit synthesizes a section specified for each of the mail addresses and 6. The e-mail transmitting apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a function of displaying the e-mail in a display area for each destination. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the document data creation unit updates the mail text or changes only the transmission content addressed to the mail address when the transmission content for each mail address displayed in the destination-specific display area is changed. 8. The e-mail transmission device according to claim 7, further comprising a function of updating one of the contents in accordance with the update selection instruction. 9. A storage medium storing a program for transmitting an e-mail using an arithmetic device, wherein the program is a command for operating the arithmetic device.
A document data creation command for creating document data divided into a plurality of message data in accordance with a user input, and a section for defining a section name for each of the message data in the document data created by the document data creation command. A name definition command, a link setting command for associating a section name to be transmitted to each of a plurality of e-mail addresses, and a section specified for each e-mail address in the link setting process are combined and transmitted to the e-mail address. A storage medium storing an e-mail transmission program, comprising: a section-specific transmission instruction.