JP2006072535A - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the ease of handling an attached file to email. <P>SOLUTION: An icon or thumbnail in the attached file to email is obtained (step S605, step S612). When a process for deleting the attached file is performed, the attached file itself is deleted while the icon or thumbnail created is saved. Once the attached file has been deleted, a process for laying over the icon or thumbnail a mark indicating that the attached file has been deleted is performed to indicate that the attached file has been deleted (step S606). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method, and a computer-readable storage medium for recording the program.

  In the prior art, the attached file attached to the e-mail cannot be deleted. Alternatively, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, even when an attached file can be deleted, it has not been assumed to display the deleted attached file. The attached file is displayed only with an icon according to the type of data, and when the attached file is deleted, it indicates that the icon has been deleted.

JP 2002-158690 A

  However, in the above-described conventional example, there is a problem that the storage area is wasted when the attached file is unnecessary, or that the attached file is attached to the e-mail when the attached file is deleted. There was a problem that the file itself could not be understood, or, after deleting the attached file, there was a problem that it was not possible to know what the file was even if the name and type of the attached file were known. As a result, the attached file attached to the e-mail has become very difficult to handle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a program, and a computer-readable storage medium that improve the ease of handling an attached file attached to an e-mail. The purpose is to do.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an information processing apparatus capable of displaying the contents of an electronic mail, and displays an attached file attached to the electronic mail with an icon or a thumbnail. Means for deleting the attached file, and when deleting the attached file by the deleting means, the attached file itself is deleted, and the icon or the thumbnail displayed by the attached file display means There is provided an information processing apparatus or the like characterized by having storage means for storing the information and a deletion display means for displaying that the attached file is deleted when the attached file is deleted.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the ease of handling of the attached file attached to the electronic mail can be improved. In addition, a plurality of types of e-mails such as reception / transmission can be displayed at the same time, and differences in the types of e-mails can be easily distinguished. Furthermore, it becomes possible to improve the searchability when searching from a large number of electronic mails based on ambiguous memory.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 101 denotes a central processing unit (CPU) that controls calculation and control, and reference numeral 102 denotes a ROM that stores programs and data. The CPU 101 controls the entire apparatus, and executes various processes based on programs and data stored in the ROM 102. In this embodiment, e-mail analysis processing, e-mail display processing, e-mail attachment file deletion processing, e-mail attachment file thumbnail creation processing, and the like are performed.

  Reference numeral 103 denotes a main memory (RAM) used as a work area and a data storage area, and reference numeral 104 denotes a storage device such as a hard disk drive for storing data and programs to be held even when the power is turned off. Reference numeral 105 denotes an external storage device connected to the outside of the main body and used for the same purpose as the storage device 104. In the present embodiment, e-mails and thumbnails are stored in the storage device 104 or the external storage device 105.

  Reference numeral 106 denotes a system bus for exchanging signals. Reference numeral 107 denotes an output device such as a display for performing display as an interface for presenting information to the user and a speaker for outputting sound. Reference numeral 108 denotes an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for the user to input and give instructions. It is. Reference numeral 109 denotes a communication I / F (interface) for communicating with an external server or the like via a LAN adapter or a modem.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an e-mail content display screen in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. This display is displayed on the output device 107 such as a display by opening a specific electronic mail.

  Reference numeral 200 denotes an entire area for displaying the contents of the e-mail. The area 200 includes a title bar area 210 for displaying the name of the display area, an area 220 for displaying text information of the header and body of the email, an area 230 for displaying an attached file of the body of the email, and a process desired by the user It is comprised from the menu area 240 for selecting.

  The area 230 for displaying the attached file is not displayed when the attached file does not exist, and the area 220 for displaying the header of the electronic mail and the text information of the body is expanded and filled there. The character string “message (inbox)” displayed in the title bar area 210 is the title 211 of the display window, and what is displayed is the message, that is, the content of the email, and the email is a mail. Indicates that it is in the box “Inbox”.

  Reference numeral 212 denotes a button on the GUI for closing the area 200 for displaying the contents of the e-mail. An area 221 for displaying the header information of the e-mail and an area 222 for displaying the text of the body are separated by putting a certain space between them. Reference numerals 231 to 234 indicate thumbnails of files attached to the e-mail or icons corresponding to the file types and file names in order in the area 230 for displaying the attached file of the e-mail body. Each of the square boxes at the top is a thumbnail or icon, and the character string at the bottom is the name of the attached file.

  The attached file can be selected when the user clicks or taps an icon or thumbnail displayed on the screen with the input device 108 such as a mouse or a digitizer. Reference numeral 231 indicates that the background is grayed out and the attached file is selected. In the menu area 240 for selecting a process desired by the user, there are buttons 241 to 247 on the GUI for selecting a desired process when the user selects with the input device 108 such as a mouse or a digitizer. .

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an e-mail file structure in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
A message file 310 is a physical entity of the electronic mail. In FIG. 3, “12345678” is the file name of the message file. The message file is given a numerical file name in order from 1 in the order in which the message file is imported. This message file includes the header of the electronic mail, the body of the electronic mail, a delimiter for the attached file portion, and the header of the attached file.

  Reference numeral 320 denotes a directory for holding an attached file separated from the message file 310. In FIG. 3, “12345678.attached” is the name of the directory 320. In this way, the directory 320 that holds the attachment file separated from the message file 310 is a directory that holds the attachment file of the message file 310 by adding the extension “attached” to the file name of the message file 310. Indicates.

  Reference numerals 321 to 324 each denote one attached file. The attached file is separated from the message file 310 when received. In the figure, “1. thumb”, “2”, “3”, “4” are file names given to the respective attached files. These are given in order from 1 in the order in which the attached file is included when viewed from the top of the message file 310. This is a measure for the case where the file name is not specified in the header of the attached file of the message file 310 and the case where the same file name is assigned to different attached files.

  However, in 321, the extension “thumb” is added to the file name “1”. This indicates that the attached file has already been deleted and the thumbnail image is stored with the file name. A dotted line 322 indicates that the attached file has already been deleted and that the attached file does not actually exist. An attached file for which a thumbnail image cannot be created is simply deleted as in 322, and the number assigned to the attached file as a file name is a missing number.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an e-mail display process in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. Steps S401 to S406 indicate each step.

  First, in step S401, the message file 310 is analyzed, and an e-mail header information acquisition process is performed. Subsequently, in step S402, the header information of the e-mail is displayed in the area 221 for displaying the header information.

  Subsequently, in step S403, it is determined whether or not the first data of the body is text data. If it is determined that the data is text data, the process proceeds to step S404 and the text data is displayed in the area 222. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S405. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S403 that the data is not text data, the process proceeds to step S405.

  Subsequently, in step S405, the message file 310 is further analyzed, and it is determined whether or not data constituting the body still exists. As a result of this determination, if it is determined that the data constituting the body still exists, the process proceeds to step S406, and processing for displaying the data as an attached file in the area 230 is performed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S. On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S405, if it is determined that there is no more data constituting the body, the e-mail display process is terminated.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an attachment file type (type), a program associated with the type, and an icon image file when the program cannot create a thumbnail of the attachment file in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the table which showed correspondence.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 500 denotes the entire correspondence table. The correspondence table 500 is held in a non-volatile and changeable storage area such as the storage device 104 or the external storage device 105. Each row of the correspondence table 500 indicates one type of attached file type, a program associated with the type, a correspondence of the icon image file when the program cannot create a thumbnail of the attached file, and In each column, all types of attached files, associated programs, and icon image files when thumbnails cannot be created are shown. In FIG. 5, 510 indicates the leftmost column of the correspondence table 500, and each column 510 indicates a character string of the type (type) of the attached file. A column 511 included in the column 510 has an empty type, and if it is data of a type that does not apply to all the other types included in 510, the row including 511 is selected. If 512, the type of the attached file is “image / jpeg”, a line including 512 is selected.

  In FIG. 5, 520 shows the second column from the left of the correspondence table 500, and this column 520 shows the character string of the program associated with the type of attached file. In the column 520 included in the column 520, the associated program is empty, and if the file is of a type that does not apply to all the other types included in the column 510, the corresponding program exists. Indicates that no. Reference numeral 522 indicates that when the type of the attached file is “image / jpeg”, the corresponding program is a program “Image Viewer”.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 530 denotes the rightmost column of the correspondence table 500. In this column 530, the character string of the icon image file when the program corresponding to the type of the attached file cannot create the thumbnail of the attached file. It is shown. The column 531 included in the column 530 indicates that the icon image file is a file “Icon0.png” when the file does not correspond to all the other types included in the column 510. Reference numeral 532 indicates that when the type of the attached file is “image / jpeg”, the icon image file used when the corresponding program 532 cannot generate a thumbnail is the file “Icon1.png”. .

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an attached file display process in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. Steps S601 to S614 indicate each step.

  First, in step S601, the field including the type information of the attached file is read from the header of the attached file of the message file 310 and analyzed to obtain the type information of the attached file.

  In step S602, the correspondence table 500 is searched to determine whether there is a program corresponding to the type. As a result of this determination, if it is determined that the corresponding program exists, the process proceeds to step S603. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S602 that there is no corresponding program, the process proceeds to step S611.

  If it is determined in step S602 that the corresponding program exists, in step S603, the program is inquired to determine whether the thumbnail of the attached file can be created. As a result of this determination, if it is determined that the thumbnail of the attached file can be created, the process proceeds to step S604. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S603 that the thumbnail of the attached file cannot be created, the process proceeds to step S611.

  If it is determined in step S603 that a thumbnail of the attached file can be created, in step S604, an extension indicating that the file is a thumbnail image is added to the file name of the attached file in the directory 320 of the attached file. Whether or not the attached file is already a thumbnail is determined based on whether or not the file is attached. As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the attached file is already only a thumbnail, the process proceeds to step S605, the thumbnail image is acquired from the thumbnail image file, and the process further proceeds to step S606. A process of overlaying a mark indicating that the image has been deleted is performed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S607. On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S604, if it is determined that the attached file is not only a thumbnail, the process proceeds to step S610, and based on the program corresponding to the type of attached file searched in step S602, the attached file is determined. A thumbnail image is created, and the process proceeds to step S607.

  As a result of the determination in step S602, it is determined that there is no program corresponding to the attached file, or as a result of the determination in step S603, it is determined that a program corresponding to the thumbnail image of the attached file cannot be created. In this case, subsequently, in step S611, the correspondence table 500 is searched to determine whether or not an icon corresponding to the type of attached file exists. If it is determined that the corresponding icon exists as a result of the determination, the process proceeds to step S612, and the corresponding icon image held in the correspondence table 500 is acquired. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S613. On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S611, if it is determined that there is no icon corresponding to the type of the attached file, the process proceeds to step S614, and the default icon image for the attached file having no corresponding icon exists. To get. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S613.

  Subsequently, in step S613, based on whether or not there is a file having a number corresponding to the directory 320 for holding the attached file separated from the message file, it is determined whether or not the attached file has already been deleted. to decide. As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the attached file has already been deleted, the process proceeds to step S606. On the other hand, if it is determined that the attached file has not been deleted, the process proceeds to step S607.

  If the process in step S606 is completed, if the process in step S610 is completed, or if it is determined in step S613 that the attached file has not been deleted, then in step S607, The field including the name information of the attached file is read from the header of the attached file of the message file 310 and analyzed to obtain the name information of the attached file. In step S608, the attached file icon or thumbnail and the file name are combined to create display data for the attached file. In step S609, the generated attachment file display data is added to the display area 230 for displaying the attached file and displayed. With the above processing, the attached file display processing is terminated.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of an attached file deletion process in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. Steps S701 to S705 indicate each step.

  First, in step S701, the correspondence table 500 is searched to determine whether there is a program corresponding to the type of attached file. If it is determined that there is a corresponding program as a result of the determination, the process proceeds to step S702. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S701 that there is no program corresponding to the type of the attached file, the process proceeds to step S706.

  In step S702, an inquiry is made to the program to determine whether a thumbnail of the attached file can be created. If it is determined that the thumbnail of the attached file can be created as a result of the determination, the process advances to step S703. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S702 that the thumbnail of the attached file cannot be created, the process proceeds to step S706.

  In step S703, a thumbnail image is created from the attached file. Subsequently, in step S704, the attached file separated from the message file is deleted from the directory 320 for holding. In step S705, the thumbnail image created in step S703 is stored in the directory with a file name obtained by adding a thumbnail extension “thumb” to the file name of the attached file deleted in step S704. Then, the attached file deletion process ends.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no program corresponding to the attached file as a result of the determination in step S701, or when it is determined that the program corresponding to the thumbnail image of the attached file cannot be created as a result of the determination in step S702. Subsequently, in step S706, the attachment file is deleted from the directory 320 for holding the attachment file separated from the message file. Then, the attached file deletion process ends.

  FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a content display screen for an e-mail including a deleted attached file in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. This display is displayed on the output device 107 such as a display by opening a specific electronic mail including the deleted attached file.

  Reference numeral 801 denotes an area for displaying the deleted attached file in the area 230 for displaying the attached file in the body of the e-mail in the entire area 200 for displaying the contents of the e-mail. This indicates that the attached file has already been deleted by performing an overlay process.

(Other embodiments of the present invention)
As an information processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, a thumbnail file for an attached file may be created in advance when the attached file is separated from the message file 310. In this case, the process of step S604 in FIG. 6 determines whether or not the attached file has been deleted. In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the process of simply deleting the attached file in the directory 320 of the attached file is performed. It becomes.

  In addition, as an information processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, a configuration for enlarging and displaying a thumbnail may be provided to make it easier to identify what kind of data the attached file is.

It is the conceptual diagram which showed an example of the structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the conceptual diagram which showed an example of the screen for content display of an email in the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an e-mail file configuration in an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an electronic mail display process in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the type (type) of the attached file, the program associated with the type, and the correspondence of the icon image file when the program cannot create the thumbnail of the attached file are shown. It is a conceptual diagram of a table. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an attached file display process in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an attached file deletion process in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is the conceptual diagram which showed an example of the content display screen of the email containing the deleted attachment file in the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 Storage Device 105 External Storage Device 106 System Bus 107 Output Device 108 Input Device 109 Communication I / F

Claims (4)

An information processing apparatus capable of displaying the contents of an email,
An attached file display means for displaying an attached file attached to the e-mail with an icon or a thumbnail;
Deleting means for deleting the attached file;
When deleting the attachment file by the deletion means, the storage means for deleting the attachment file itself and for saving the icon or the thumbnail displayed by the attachment file display means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: deletion display means for displaying that the attached file is deleted when the attached file is deleted. An information processing method used for an information processing apparatus capable of displaying the contents of an email,
An attached file display process for displaying an attached file attached to the e-mail with an icon or a thumbnail;
A deletion process for deleting the attached file;
When deleting the attached file by the deleting process, the attached file itself is deleted, and the saving process for saving the icon or the thumbnail displayed by the attached file display process;
And a deletion display process for displaying that the attached file has been deleted when the attached file is deleted. A program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method used in an information processing apparatus capable of displaying the contents of an email,
An attached file display process for displaying an attached file attached to the e-mail with an icon or a thumbnail;
A deletion process for deleting the attached file;
When deleting the attached file by the deleting process, the attached file itself is deleted, and the saving process for saving the icon or the thumbnail displayed by the attached file display process;
A program for causing a computer to execute a deletion display process for displaying that the attached file is deleted when the attached file is deleted.   A computer-readable storage medium in which the program according to claim 3 is recorded.

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