JP2765536B2 - Email organizing and searching device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus for organizing (sorting, etc.) and retrieving a large amount of electronic mail exchanged via a wide area network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of electronic mail organizing and searching apparatus, organizing and searching using a mail folder has been performed in order to organize and search a large number of electronic mails.

[0003] The mail folder is uniquely given a meaning by a word or a word string, and the mail folder stores an electronic mail which is considered to conform to the meaning. That is, the classification of electronic mail is realized by the mail folder.

When a mail folder is opened, an electronic mail stored in the mail folder can be viewed. However, when the mail folder is closed, the e-mail stored in the mail folder cannot be viewed.

In a conventional e-mail organizing and retrieving apparatus, by using a plurality of such mail folders, e-mails transmitted and received via a wide area network can be freely organized and searched according to the user's preference. It was like.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a screen displayed in a conventional electronic mail organizing and searching apparatus. Hereinafter, a conventional electronic mail organizing and searching device will be described using an example of this screen.

[0007] A screen shown in FIG. 19 is a mail folder display area 101 which is an area for displaying a list of mail folders defined in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus, and is stored in a currently opened mail folder. And a header information display area 102, which is an area where a list of header information of the e-mails is displayed.

[0008] In the mail folder display area 101, a folder symbol indicating the state of the mail folder, such as whether the mail folder is opened, and a folder name indicating the meaning assigned to the mail folder are displayed. In FIG. 19, for example, the fact that a mail folder having a folder name of “Inbox” is currently open,
It is indicated by a folder symbol corresponding to the folder name.

In the header information display area 102,
The transmission date and time, the sender, the title, and a part of the text extracted from the e-mail stored in the currently opened mail folder are formatted and displayed in a listable manner.

In order to open another mail folder that is not currently open, the following operations and processes are performed in this electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus. One of the mail folders whose information is displayed in the mail folder display area 101 is selected by input means such as a mouse. The folder symbol of the mail folder selected by the operation changes to a "folder symbol indicating that the mail folder is open." Also, in the header information display area 102, the header information of the e-mail stored in the mail folder newly selected by the operation is replaced with the header information of the e-mail stored in the mail folder which has been opened until then. Information is displayed.

In order to classify transmitted and received e-mails, the e-mail once stored in the currently displayed e-mail folder is moved to a desired e-mail folder by an instruction from input means such as a mouse. , The classification is realized. With this,
The electronic mail is displayed only when the mail folder of the classification destination is opened.

[0012]

In the above-described conventional e-mail organizing and retrieving apparatus, the list of header information of e-mails stored in each mail folder has the same display area for all mail folders (see FIG. 19). (A list of only one mail folder is displayed at a certain point in time) in the header information display area 102), so that information on all e-mails stored in the e-mail organizing and searching device is displayed. Cannot be listed. For this reason, if you try to search for e-mail with a meaning that is not in the meaning of the mail folder, or if you try to reclassify e-mail that has been classified by mail folder in a different way from before, When trying to view e-mail stored in a mail folder different from the displayed mail folder, the operation of switching the contents displayed in the area for displaying a list of information about the e-mail is frequently repeated. Therefore, there is a problem that such processing takes a lot of trouble.

[0013] In addition, since information about the e-mail classified into the mail folder is displayed only when the mail folder of the classification destination is opened, a mistake in the classification of a certain e-mail into the mail folder may occur. Then, there is a problem that it is very difficult to retrieve the e-mail later.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to simultaneously list header information and classification of all stored electronic mails, and to always display a predetermined electronic mail as a symbol. Providing a two-dimensional symbol display area ("board display area" to be described later), which can arrange and search e-mails flexibly with less labor. It is in.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus for inputting information including a type of processing at the time of instruction, and transmitting and receiving an electronic mail based on an instruction from the input means. E-mail communication means, e-mail storage means for storing e-mails to be transmitted and received by the e-mail communication means, and a name of a classifying destination for classifying e-mails stored in the e-mail storage means Tray information storage means for storing tray information indicating the order in which the sorting destinations are displayed as trays, and a mail object corresponding to each electronic mail and having path information, mail attribute information, header information, and classification information An e-mail is created based on an instruction from the input unit, and an e-mail is created based on the instruction from the input unit. E-mail editing means for displaying the contents of e-mail stored in the e-mail storage means, and header information and mail attribute information of a mail object in the mail object storage means based on an instruction from the input means Header information display means for formatting and displaying in the header information display area on the screen so that the list can be displayed in the form of "one line per mail object", and corresponding to each classification destination of the e-mail based on the instruction from the input means A tray display area, which is a symbol display area composed of each tray display section and a tray symbol display section, is displayed next to the header information display area on the screen, and the mail object classification information in the mail object storage means is referred to. The document symbol that indicates that an e-mail is classified And a tray display means for displaying the tray symbol display unit.

[0016]

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

The electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment includes an input means 1, an electronic mail communication means 2, an electronic mail storage means 3, a tray information storage means 4, a mail object storage means 5, an electronic mail editing means, It comprises means 6, a header information display means 7, and a tray display means 8.

The contents of each means will be described below.

Input Means 1 This is a means for inputting necessary characters, positions, commands, and the like when “creating an electronic mail” or “selecting or specifying a line or symbol”. For example, it is composed of a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, and the like. At the time of instruction processing (see FIG. 14), "information indicating what kind of processing should be performed" (information indicating the type of instruction processing) specified by the user is input.

E-mail communication means 2 This is a means for transmitting and receiving e-mails between the e-mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment and the wide area network.

Electronic mail storage means 3 This is storage means for storing electronic mail transmitted and received by the electronic mail communication means 2.

Tray information storage unit 4 Tray information indicating the name of a classification destination (classification type) for classifying the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail storage unit 3 and the order in which the classification destination is displayed as a tray. Is storage means for storing

Mail object storage means 5 When an electronic mail is stored in the electronic mail storage means 3,
This is a means for creating and storing a mail object 50 corresponding to the electronic mail. Further, when updating of information included in the mail object 50 is instructed by the input unit 1 via the header information display unit 7 or the tray display unit 8, the information of the corresponding mail object 50 is updated. .

E-mail editing means 6 When an instruction is given by the input means 1 via the header information display means 7 to display the contents of the e-mail corresponding to the line displayed on the screen, the instruction is issued. This is a display unit that searches for a desired electronic mail from the electronic mail storage unit 3 based on the path information included in the mail object 50 corresponding to the line, and displays the contents of the electronic mail on the screen. It is also an editing means for editing an e-mail newly created for transmission.

Header information display means 7 The header information and mail attribute information of the mail object 50 stored in the mail object storage means 5 are formatted on the screen so as to be displayed in the form of “one line per mail object”. This is a means for displaying the contents of the information display area 71 (see FIG. 3) on the screen.

Tray display means 8 One of the classification destinations (classification types) stored in the tray information storage means 4 is displayed as a tray in a line (vertical direction) on the screen, and a plurality of them are arranged in the horizontal direction. Tray display area 72 shaped so that the classification destinations can be listed
(See FIG. 3) is displayed next to the header information display area 71. It is also a means for displaying the document symbol (see FIG. 3) on the corresponding tray on the screen with reference to the classification information 54 (see FIG. 2) included in the mail object 50 displayed on the screen. .

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail object 50 corresponding to an electronic mail handled by the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present embodiment.

The mail object 50 includes a path information 51 indicating a storage location of the electronic mail (an electronic mail corresponding to the mail object 50) on the electronic mail storage means 3, mail attribute information 52, and The header information 53 storing the extracted reception date and time, the sender, the title, a part of the text (the first part of the text) and the destination, and the individual classification destinations stored in the tray information storage means 4 On the other hand, the classification information 54 stores information of attribute values (attribute values indicating two values of “applicable” and “not applicable”) taken by the electronic mail.
Here, the mail attribute information 52 includes type information indicating the type of the e-mail (“sent mail” or “received mail”) and whether the e-mail has already been referred to by the e-mail editing unit 6 (“unread”). Or a text reference flag indicating “read” and whether the e-mail is compressed and stored in the e-mail storage unit 3 (“(compressed)” or “(not compressed)”) And a compression flag indicating

As described above, in the present invention, by storing and using the mail object 50 in the mail object storage means 5 separately from the electronic mail, all the electronic mails stored in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of the present embodiment are obtained. Can be managed efficiently and easily.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a screen displayed in the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present embodiment. This screen includes a header information display area 71 and a tray display area 7.
And 2.

Here, the header information display area 71 includes a date and time display section 71a, a mail attribute display section 71b, a sender display section 71c, and a content display section 71d.

The tray display area 72 includes a tray display section 72a and a tray symbol display section 72b.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the startup display processing in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment. (This figure shows the startup display processing in the second to fifth embodiments described later.) It is also a flowchart shown). This processing includes a header information display means and tray display means calling step S1, a content display section etc. display step S2, a mail attribute display section display step S3, a tray display area display step S4, a display impossible information holding step S5, , A document symbol display step S6 and a tray symbol display step S7.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing the processing at the time of instruction in the electronic mail organizing and searching apparatus of this embodiment (this figure is a flow chart showing the processing at the time of instruction of the second to fifth embodiments described later). But also). This processing includes an instruction input step S11 and a tray display area display content switching step S11.
12, tray information storage means and mail object storage means call step S13, tray information addition storage step S14, and classification information attribute value addition storage step S
15, an update information display reflection step S16, a mail object storage means calling step S17, a classification information attribute value change step S18, an update information display reflection step S19, and an e-mail content display instruction step S20.
A text reference flag determination step S21, a text reference flag change step S22, a mail symbol display mode change step S23, and an e-mail content display step S2.
4, e-mail presence / absence determination step S25, e-mail storage means storage step S26, e-mail object creation step S27, e-mail object addition notification step S28, line addition step S29, and e-mail editing window display step S30. , An e-mail transmission step S31 and an e-mail storage step S32.

Next, the operation of the thus configured electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

First, an operation when a screen is displayed when the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment is activated (operation at the time of activation display processing) will be described (see FIG. 13).

When the user activates the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment, the header information display means 7 and the tray display means 8 are called (step S1).

When called, the header information display means 7 refers to the mail object 50 stored in the mail object storage means 5, assigns one line on the screen to one mail object 50, and includes Each of the information read from the header information 50c to be read is shaped as shown in the following (1) and the information thus shaped is displayed in the header information display area 71 on the screen (step S2). The date and time information read from the header information 53 is displayed on the date and time display section 71a. The receiver information read from the header information 53 is displayed on the sender display section 71c. The title information and a part of the text read from the header information 53 are displayed on the content display section 71d.

Further, the header information display means 7 refers to the mail attribute information 52 of each mail object 50, and uses the attribute values stored in the text reference flag and the compression flag of the mail attribute information 52, for example, as shown in FIG. A mail symbol such as an unread mail symbol, a read mail symbol, and a compressed mail symbol in 3 is displayed on the mail attribute display section 71b (step S3).

When the tray display means 8 is called, the following display on the screen is performed on the screen.

Referring to the tray information stored in the tray information storage unit 4, each classification destination is set in each tray display section 72.
a, and a plurality of the sorting destinations are displayed in the tray display area 72 on the screen so that a plurality of sorting destinations can be listed (step S4).

Even for trays (classification destinations) that cannot be displayed in the tray display area 72 on the screen, the information is retained in the self (tray display means 8) (step S 5) and displayed as needed by the input means 1. It can be so.
That is, the tray display section 7 in the tray display area 72
Prepare so that the list of 2a can be switched.

With reference to the classification information 54 of each mail object 50 (the mail object 50 in the mail object storage means 5) corresponding to each line displayed on the screen, a classification having an attribute value of “applicable” is referred to. The document symbol (see FIG. 3) is displayed on the corresponding tray display section 72a (step S6).

For a mail object 50 having an attribute value of “applicable” to a classification destination corresponding to a tray outside the screen, a tray symbol (FIG. 3) is displayed in the tray symbol display section 72 b of the line corresponding to the mail object 50. (See step S7) to indicate to the user that the mail object 50 is also classified as a tray outside the screen (in FIG. 3, a tray indicating the right direction in the tray symbol display section 72b on the right side). Although only symbols are shown, a tray symbol indicating the left direction may be displayed on the left tray symbol display section 72b.)

Secondly, when the user gives various instructions to the displayed screen via the input means 1, the operation when the processing corresponding to each instruction is performed (the instruction processing). The operation at that time will be described (see FIG. 14).

The input means 1 inputs each instruction input by the user (step S11). Based on the content of this instruction, each of the following processes (1) to (4) is performed.

When an instruction to select a certain tray symbol (such as an instruction to position the mouse cursor on the tray symbol display portion 72b where the tray symbol is displayed and click the mouse) is issued.

In this case, the tray display means 8 displays the tray display area 72 so as to display information on a tray outside the screen which caused the tray symbol to be displayed.
Is switched (step S12).

When a classification destination, that is, an instruction to add a tray corresponding to the classification destination is issued.

In this case, the tray display means 8 comprises the tray information storage means 4 and the mail object storage means 5
Is called (step S13).

When called, the tray information storage means 4 adds the tray information corresponding to the classification destination instructed to be added and stores it in itself (step S14).

The mail object storage means 5
When called, each stored mail object 5
The attribute value of “not applicable” is added to the added tray and stored in the classification information 54 of 0 (step S).
15).

Further, the tray display means 8 refers to the information updated as described above in the tray information storage means 4 and the mail object storage means 5, and reflects the update on the display on the screen (step S16).

When an instruction to add a document symbol to a specific line of the tray display section 72a displayed on the screen is issued.

In this case, the tray display means 8 calls the mail object storage means 5 (step S1).
7).

The called mail object storage means 5 stores the mail object 50 corresponding to the designated line.
The attribute of the classification destination corresponding to the designated tray included in the classification information 54 is changed to an attribute value of “applicable” (step S18).

Further, the tray display means 8 refers to the information updated in the mail object storage means 5, and reflects the update on the display on the screen (step S19).

When one or more lines on the screen are selected and an instruction to display the contents of the e-mail corresponding to the mail object 50 assigned to the line is given.

In this case, the header information display means 7
With reference to the path information 51 of the mail object 50 assigned to the line selected by the input means 1, the electronic mail corresponding to the mail object 50 is instructed to the electronic mail editing means 6 together with the path information 51 (instructed by the path information 51). Is sent (step S20).

Further, it is determined whether or not the attribute value is "unread" by referring to the text reference flag included in the mail attribute information 52 of the same mail object 50 (step S21).

If it is determined in step S21 that the attribute value of the text reference flag is "unread", an instruction is given to the mail object storage means 5 to change the attribute value to "read". It is issued (step S22). The mail object storage unit 5 changes the attribute value based on the instruction.

Further, when changing the attribute value of the text reference flag (when it is determined in step S21 that the attribute value of the text reference flag is "unread"), the header information display means 7 Referring also to other attribute information included in the mail attribute information 52 of the same mail object 50,
The display mode of the mail symbol displayed on the mail attribute display section 71b in the header information display area 71 on the screen is changed (step S23).

On the other hand, the electronic mail editing means 6 uses the received path information 51 to search for the desired electronic mail from the electronic mail storage means 3 irrespective of the judgment result in step S21, and displays the contents on the screen. Is displayed (step S24).

When an instruction to receive an e-mail is given by the e-mail communication means 2

In this case, the electronic mail communication means 2
The mail host connected to the wide area network is inquired as to whether there is an e-mail addressed to the user (step S25).

The e-mail communication means 2 determines in step S25
Receives the reply that "there is an e-mail", retrieves the e-mail from the mail host and stores it in the e-mail storage means 3 (step S26). If “the e-mail does not exist”, the process ends.

When the electronic mail storage means 3 stores the electronic mail, the electronic mail storage means 3 notifies the mail object storage means 5 of the information of the storage position (location) and the fact that the new electronic mail is stored. Upon receiving the notification, the mail object storage unit 5 refers to the newly stored e-mail in the e-mail storage unit 3 and creates a new mail object 50 corresponding to the e-mail (step S2).
7).

The mail object storage means 5
The header information display means 7 indicates that the content of the set of mail objects 50 stored therein has been changed (added).
And the tray display means 8 (step S2).
8).

The header information display means 7 and the tray display means 8 receive the notification from the mail object storage means 5 and add a line corresponding to the mail object 50 newly stored in the mail object storage means 5 to the screen. Is displayed (step S29).

When an instruction to create a new e-mail is sent to the e-mail editing means 6 in order to send an e-mail

In this case, the electronic mail editing means 6
In response to the instruction, a window for editing the content of the new e-mail is displayed on the screen (step S3).
0). The user edits the contents of the e-mail using this window by using the input unit 1.

When transmitting the edited e-mail, the user inputs the e-mail by the input means 1 to the e-mail communication means 2.
To send an e-mail. The e-mail communication unit 2 that has received the instruction transmits the edited e-mail (step S31), and stores the transmitted e-mail in the e-mail storage unit 3 (step S32).

In the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment,
By the above-described operation, the following effects are obtained.

The header information and the mail attribute information of all the electronic mails stored in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment and the state of the classification of each electronic mail can be listed on the screen.

In order to sort and arrange the transmitted and received e-mails, it is only necessary to instruct to display the document symbol at the tray to be classified, so that the operation for organizing the e-mails is easy. become.

Since it is possible to instruct one e-mail (one line on the screen) to display document symbols for a plurality of trays, the e-mail can be organized (classified, etc.) from several viewpoints, Freedom of arrangement increases.

As described above, the degree of freedom in organization is increased, so that it is possible to increase the number of clues for search and to narrow down the target e-mail at the time of search.

(2) FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

The electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment comprises an input means 1, an electronic mail communication means 2, an electronic mail storage means 3, a tray information storage means 4, a mail object storage means 5, an electronic mail editing means, It includes means 6, header information display means 7, tray display means 8, and additional information display means 9.

The additional information display means 9 attaches a tag (additional information 5 in FIG. 5) to each mail object 50 corresponding to each line displayed on the screen in accordance with an instruction from the input means 1.
5) is a means for adding a memo symbol indicating the presence of a tag on the screen. It is also a means for displaying the contents of a tag corresponding to the memo symbol displayed on the screen selected by the instruction from the input means 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of a mail object 50 corresponding to an electronic mail handled by the electronic mail organizing and searching device of this embodiment.

The mail object 50 stores additional information 55 in addition to the mail object 50 (see FIG. 2) in the first embodiment. The additional information 55 has the contents of the tag added by the additional information display unit 9.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment. The header information display area 71 on this screen is
1a, mail attribute display section 71b, sender display section 71c,
And an additional information display section 71 in addition to the content display section 71d.
h.

FIG. 13 is also a flowchart showing the startup display processing in the electronic mail organizing and searching apparatus of this embodiment.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are also flow charts showing the processing at the time of instruction in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment. The processing in FIG. 15 is performed in the memo symbol display step S3
3, input window display step S34, tag content input step S35, and input window deletion step S
36 and the mail object storage means calling step S
37, additional information storage step S38, mail object storage means calling step S39, additional information extraction step S40, window display step S41,
It comprises an additional information display step S42.

Next, the operation of the thus configured electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

The operation during the startup display process is the same as the operation in the first embodiment (see FIG. 13).

In the operation at the time of instruction, the following two processes are performed in addition to the same operations as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 14 (see FIG. 15).

That is, when the content of the instruction input by the user through the input means 1 in step S11 in FIG. 14 is as follows, the following processing is performed.

When the mail object 50 assigned to one line on the screen is selected and an instruction to attach a tag is given.

In this case, the additional information display means 9 displays the memo symbol (see FIG. 6) on the additional information display section 71h of the line selected on the screen (step S3).
3).

At the same time, the additional information display means 9
Displays an input window for inputting the contents of the instructed tag (step S34), and waits for an input from the input unit 1.

When the contents of the tag are input by the input means 1 (step S35), the additional information display means 9 deletes the input window (step S36) and calls the mail object storage means 5 (step S37).

The called mail object storage means 5 refers to the mail object 50 corresponding to the line selected on the screen, and stores the contents of the input tag in the additional information 55 of the mail object 50 ( Step S38).

When one of the memo symbols displayed on the screen is selected and an instruction to display the contents of the additional information 55 corresponding to the memo symbol is issued.

In this case, the additional information display means 9 calls the mail object storage means 5 (step S3).
9).

The called mail object storage means 5 stores the mail object 50 assigned to the line where the memo symbol selected on the screen is displayed.
Is extracted, and the additional information 55 is passed to the additional information display means 9 (step S40).

The additional information display means 9 displays a window for displaying the contents of the tag (step S41),
The additional information 55 received from the mail object storage means 5 is displayed in the window (step S4).
2).

In the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of the second embodiment, the above operation allows the user to freely enter information (additional information 55) for all the electronic mails stored in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus. ) Can be added.

(3) FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a third embodiment of the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

The electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment comprises an input means 1, an electronic mail communication means 2, an electronic mail storage means 3, a tray information storage means 4, a mail object storage means 5, an electronic mail editing means, It includes means 6, header information display means 7, tray display means 8, additional information display means 9, and e-mail condition search means 10.

The e-mail condition searching means 10 receives the e-mail storage means 3 according to the condition inputted by the input means 1.
Is a means for searching for an e-mail stored in.

Further, the tray information storage means 4 in this embodiment is a means having the function of the tray information storage means 4 in the first and second embodiments, and a search input by the input means 1. Is a means for storing the condition (1) as information of one classification destination.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail object 50 corresponding to an electronic mail handled by the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 13 is also a flowchart showing the startup display processing in the electronic mail organizing and searching device of this embodiment.

FIG. 14, FIG. 15, and FIG. 16 are also flow charts showing the processing at the time of instruction in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment. The processing in FIG. 16 includes a search condition delivery step S43, a search condition corresponding tray information creation / storage step S44, an e-mail search step S45, a classification information update step S46, a mail object update notification step S47, a new tray display. Section display step S4
8 and a document symbol display step S49.

Next, the operation of the thus configured electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

The operation during the startup display process is the same as the operation in the first embodiment (see FIG. 13).

In the operation at the time of instruction processing, the following processing is performed in addition to the same operation as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 (see FIG. 16).

That is, in step S11 in FIG. 14, the content of the instruction input by the user through the input means 1 is "conditions (for example, conditions such as the presence or absence of a character string and a tag) and the conditions (search conditions) In this case, the following processing is performed.

In this case, the e-mail condition search means 1
0 transfers the designated search condition to the tray information storage means 4 (step S43).

The tray information storage means 4 newly creates one sort destination information (tray information), and sets the tray information as information for the search condition received from the tray information storage means 4 (the information of the tray information). "Destination name"
The information indicating the search condition is stored in the (step S4).
4).

The electronic mail condition search means 10 searches for individual electronic mails stored in the electronic mail storage means 3 according to the specified search conditions, and passes the search result to the mail object storage means 5 (step S45). ).

The mail object storage means 5 refers to the received search result, and adds an attribute value (an attribute value corresponding to the search condition) to the classification information 54 in each stored mail object 50 (see FIG. 4). Step S46).

The mail object storage means 5
The tray display means 8 is notified that the mail object 50 has been updated in step S46 (step S46).
47).

The tray display means 8 refers to the information newly added by the tray information storage means 4 and the mail object storage means 5 and displays a new tray (corresponding to the specified search condition) in the tray display area 72 on the screen. (Step S48), and a document symbol is displayed on the corresponding tray display unit 72a based on the search result of step S45 (step S49).

With the above-described operation, the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of the third embodiment makes it possible to search for an e-mail even by a search condition that is information other than the original classification destination (search). The degree of freedom is increased). In addition, the search result relating to the search condition can be displayed without switching the screen display, and there is an effect that the search history can be easily referred to.

(4) FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a fourth embodiment of the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

The electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment comprises an input means 1, an electronic mail communication means 2, an electronic mail storage means 3, a tray information storage means 4, a mail object storage means 5, an electronic mail editing means, It comprises means 6, header information display means 7, tray display means 8, additional information display means 9, e-mail condition search means 10, and board display means 11.

The board display means 11 displays a two-dimensional symbol display area (board display area 73 in FIG. 10) on the screen, and displays the mail symbol corresponding to the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail storage means 3. This is a means for displaying at the position (position designated by the user) in the symbol display area.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail object 50 corresponding to an electronic mail handled by the electronic mail organizing and searching device of this embodiment.

This mail object 50 stores display position information 56 in addition to the mail object 50 (see FIG. 5) in the second embodiment. The display position information 56 has the coordinates of the mail symbol on the two-dimensional symbol display area (the board display area 73 in FIG. 10) displayed by the board display means 11.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed in the electronic mail organizing and searching device of this embodiment. This screen includes a header information display area 71, a tray display area 72, and a board display area 73. Here, the board display area 73 is a two-dimensional symbol display area for displaying mail symbols such as an unread mail symbol, a read mail symbol, and a compressed mail symbol. The header information display area 71 and the tray display area 72 are the same as those in the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is also a flowchart showing the startup display processing in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment (as will be described later, the startup display processing of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 1).
3 also includes processing other than the processing shown in FIG.

FIG. 14, FIG. 15, FIG. 16, and FIG.
5 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of instruction in the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present embodiment. The processing in FIG. 17 includes a mail object storage unit calling step S50, a path information returning step S51, a display instruction step S52, an e-mail content display step S53, a mail object storage unit calling step S54, and a mail symbol display instruction step. S55 and mail symbol display step S
56, a display position coordinate return step S57, and a display position information coordinate storage step S58.

Next, the operation of the thus configured electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

First, the operation when the screen is displayed when the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of the present embodiment is started (operation at the start-up display processing) will be described.

When the user activates the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment, the header information display means 7 and the tray display means 8 are called (see step S1 in FIG. 13), and the board display means 11 is called at the same time.

The process shown in FIG. 13 is performed because the header information display means 7 and the tray display means 8 are called.

When the board display means 11 is called,
The board display area 73 is displayed on the screen.

Further, the board display means 11 refers to the mail attribute information 52 and the display position information 56 of the mail object 50 stored in the mail object storage means 5, and displays the mail whose value is stored in the display position information 56. Regarding the object 50, a mail symbol (unread mail symbol, unread mail symbol) indicated by the attribute value in the mail attribute information 52 is located at a specified position (coordinate position indicated by the value of the display position information 56) on the board display area 73. Mail symbol or compressed mail symbol).

Second, when the user gives various instructions to the displayed screen via the input means 1, the operation when the processing corresponding to each instruction is performed (the processing at the time of instruction). Will be described.

In the operation at the time of instruction processing, FIGS.
In addition to the same operation as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6,
The following two processes are performed as shown in FIG.
reference).

That is, if the content of the instruction input by the user through the input means 1 in step S11 in FIG. 14 is as follows, the following processing is performed.

When an instruction to display an e-mail corresponding to a mail symbol (unread mail symbol, read mail symbol, or compressed mail symbol) displayed on board display area 73 is issued.

In this case, the board display means 11 calls the mail object storage means 5 (step S5).
0).

The called mail object storage means 5 refers to the mail object 50 corresponding to the specified mail symbol, and reads the mail object 50.
Is returned to the board display means 11 (step S51).

The board display means 11 sends an instruction to the electronic mail editing means 6 to display the contents of the electronic mail corresponding to the path information 51 together with the path information 51 received from the mail object storage means 5 (step). S52).

The electronic mail editing means 6 uses the path information 51 received from the board display means 11 to find a desired electronic mail from the electronic mail storage means 3 and displays the contents on the screen (step S53). .

An instruction to select one line in the header information display area 71 on the screen, and to display the e-mail symbol of the e-mail corresponding to the line at the designated position in the board display area 73 Is done

In this case, the header information display means 7
Call the mail object storage means 5 (step S
54).

The mail object storage means 5 refers to the mail object 50 assigned to the line selected by the input means 1 and, together with the mail attribute information 52 included in the mail object 50, the user via the input means 1. Is sent to the board display means 11 to display the mail symbol at the position designated by the user (step S)
55).

The board display means 11 places the mail symbol (unread) indicated by the attribute value of the mail attribute information 52 received from the mail object storage means 5 at the position designated by the input means 1 (the position in the board display area 73). The mail symbol, the read mail symbol, or the compressed mail symbol) is displayed (step S56), and information on the coordinates of the display position is returned to the mail object storage unit 5 (step S57).

The mail object storing means 5 stores the information of the returned coordinates in the mail object
(Step S5).
8).

In the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of the fourth embodiment, the mail symbol corresponding to the electronic mail specified by the user is always displayed at the specified position on the board display area 73 by the above operation. Let it be. The user can recognize a mail symbol corresponding to a specific electronic mail based on the position specified by the user, and can specify display of the content of the electronic mail and the like. Thus, even when the line corresponding to the e-mail is not displayed in the header information display area 71 and the tray display area 72 on the screen, it is possible to quickly display the contents of the e-mail. In addition, the user can delete a specific mail symbol on the board display area 73 by designating via the input unit 1 (in this case, the control by the board display unit 11 causes the mail symbol to be deleted. The coordinate information in the display position information in the mail object 50 corresponding to the specified electronic mail is deleted).

(5) FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a fifth embodiment of the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

The electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment comprises an input means 1, an electronic mail communication means 2, an electronic mail storage means 3, a tray information storage means 4, a mail object storage means 5, an electronic mail editing means, Means 6, a header information display means 7, a tray display means 8, an additional information display means 9, an electronic mail condition search means 10, a board display means 11, and a detailed header information display means 12. ing.

The detailed header information display means 12 monitors the position of the pointer 73 (see FIG. 12) pointed to by the input means 1, and displays the header information display area 71 or the tray display area 7.
The pointer 7 points to the line to which the mail object 50 is assigned in 2 or the mail symbol in the board display area 73.
When the display of the detailed header information is designated after the position of No.3, the detailed header information display window 75 (FIG. 12) in which the header information 53 included in the mail object 50 corresponding to the line or the mail symbol is described in detail.
Is displayed on the screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail object 50 corresponding to an electronic mail handled by the electronic mail organizing and searching device of this embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of a screen displayed in the electronic mail organizing and searching apparatus of this embodiment. This screen includes a header information display area 71, a tray display area 72, a board display area 73, and a pointer 74 (pointer realized by a general mouse pointer or the like) displayed on the screen as information indicated by the input unit 1. Figure 3.
6 and FIG. 10, which are displayed for the first time in FIG. 12 for convenience of description, and which are indicated by reference numerals), and a header information display window 75 in which header information 53 is described in detail. It is composed of
The header information display area 71, the tray display area 72,
The board display area 73 is the same area as in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is also a flowchart showing startup display processing in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment (the startup display processing in this embodiment includes processing other than the processing shown in FIG. 13).

FIG. 14, FIG. 15, FIG. 16, FIG. 17, and FIG. 18 are flowcharts showing the processing at the time of instruction in the electronic mail organizing and searching device of this embodiment. The processing in FIG. 18 includes a detailed header information display instruction detecting step S59, a pointer position determining step S60, a header information displaying means calling step S61, and a tray displaying means calling step S62.
Board calling means calling step S63, mail object obtaining step S64, header information returning step S65, detailed header information display window displaying step S66, header information displaying step S67, pointer movement detecting step S68, detailed header It comprises an information display window erasing step S69.

Next, the operation of the thus configured electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

The operation at the time of the startup display process is the same as the operation in the fourth embodiment.

In the operation at the time of instruction processing, FIGS.
In addition to the same operation as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7,
The following processing is performed (see FIG. 18).

That is, in step S11 in FIG. 14, the content of the instruction input by the user through the input means 1 is displayed as "the pointer 74 indicates the line (the mail object 50 in the header information display area 71 or the tray display area 72).
Is indicated when the position of the mail symbol or the mail symbol (the mail symbol in the board display area 73) is pointed and the display of the detailed header information is instructed. " Is performed.

In this case, the detailed header information display means 1
2 detects the instruction (step S59) and determines whether the pointer 74 is in the header information display area 71, the tray display area 72, or the board display area 73 (step S60).

The detailed header information display means 12 determines that “pointer 74 is in the header information display area 7
1, the header information display means 7
Is called (step S61), and when it is determined that "the pointer 74 is within the tray display area 72", the tray display means 8 is called (step S62), and the "pointer 7
4 is within the board display area 73 ", the board display means 11 is called (step S63).

The called header information display means 7, tray display means 8, or board display means 11 obtains the mail object 50 corresponding to the line or mail symbol where the pointer 74 is positioned from the mail object storage means 5. (Step S64), the header information 53 of the mail object 50 is returned to the detailed header information display means 12 (Step S65).

The detailed header information display means 12 has a detailed header information display window 75 next to (near) the pointer 74.
Is displayed (step S66), and the header information 53 received from the header information display means 7, the tray display means 8, or the board display means 11 is displayed in the detailed header information display window 75 (step S67). Here, the “display of header information 53” has a larger number of characters displayed than the “display of header information 53” in each line in the header information display area 71.

When the pointer 74 is moved from the line or the mail symbol corresponding to the mail object 50 having the header information 53 displayed in the detailed header information display window 75 (this is indicated by the detailed header information display means 1).
2 is detected) (step S68), the detailed header information display means 12 displays the detailed header information display window 7.
5 is deleted from the screen (step S69).

In the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of the fifth embodiment, the user can easily browse the outline of the electronic mail corresponding to the line or the mail symbol displayed on the screen by the above operation. The specific effect of the occurrence of this is produced.

The way of combining the concept described in each of the second to fifth embodiments for the first time and the concept in the first embodiment is limited to the above-described second to fifth embodiments. Not something. For example, it is possible to combine the concept described for the first time in the fifth embodiment (the concept of displaying the detailed header information display window 75) with the concept of the first embodiment (in this case, the pointer 74 is used). Is positioned in the header information display area 7
1 or the position on the line on the tray display area 72).

[0165]

As described above, in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus of the present invention, by using the "tray", the state of the header information and the classification of the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus are described. And can be listed at the same time,
There is an effect that electronic mail can be flexibly arranged with less labor.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since information can be freely added to the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus in the form of a tag (additional information), more diverse information can be added. Has a unique effect of being able to organize and search for e-mails.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail organizing and searching device can be searched according to the search condition input by the user, and the search result is displayed in the form of a tray. The search history can be displayed on the screen together with the header information, the mail attribute information, and the classification state without switching the screen. For this reason,
There is a unique effect that e-mail can be efficiently organized and searched with less effort.

In addition, according to the present invention, a two-dimensional symbol display area (board display area) is provided, and a mail symbol corresponding to the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail organizing and searching device is provided on the area. Is displayed, the user can easily refer to a specific e-mail that the user deems necessary, using the information on the display position of the e-mail symbol corresponding to the e-mail, and can organize and search the e-mail more intuitively. There is a specific effect that it can be performed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the outline of the electronic mail corresponding to the mail object specified by the line or the mail symbol displayed on the screen by moving the position of the pointer indicated by the input means can be easily obtained. It has the unique effect of being able to browse and search for emails more efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of an electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail object of an electronic mail handled by the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail object of an electronic mail handled by the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG. 4;

6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a third embodiment of the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a fourth embodiment of the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail object of an electronic mail handled by the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a fifth embodiment of the electronic mail organizing and searching device of the present invention.

12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing display processing at the time of startup of the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of instruction of the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of instruction of the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of instruction of the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of instruction of the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG. 8;

18 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of instruction of the electronic mail organizing and searching device shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a conventional electronic mail organizing and searching device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input means 2 E-mail communication means 3 E-mail storage means 4 Tray information storage means 5 Mail object storage means 6 E-mail editing means 7 Header information display means 8 Tray display means 9 Additional information display means 10 E-mail condition search means 11 Board Display means 12 detailed header information display means 50 mail object 51 path information 52 mail attribute information 53 header information 54 classification information 55 additional information 56 display position information 71 header information display area 71a date and time display section 71b mail attribute display section 71c sender display section 71d Content display section 71h Additional information display section 72 Tray display area 72a Tray display section 72b Tray symbol display section 73 Board display area 74 Pointer 75 Detailed header information display window

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-178045 (JP, A) JP-A-5-110593 (JP, A) JP-A-1-259451 (JP, A) JP-A-6-276224 (JP) JP-A-6-162085 (JP, A) JP-A-1-261723 (JP, A) JP-A-5-314031 (JP, A) JP-A-6-110930 (JP, A) 63-311431 (JP, A) JP-A-60-207974 (JP, A) Nikkei Byte, February 1992, pp. 184-194, "7 E-mail software products compatible with NetWare" (58) Fields investigated (Int. . ^6, DB name) G06F 17/30 G06F 3/14 330

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] An electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus for organizing and retrieving a large amount of electronic mail, comprising: input means for inputting information including a type of processing at the time of instruction; and e-mail based on an instruction from the input means. An e-mail communication unit that transmits and receives the e-mail, an e-mail storage unit that stores e-mail that has been transmitted and received by the e-mail communication unit, and an e-mail storage unit that classifies the e-mail stored in the e-mail storage unit. Tray information storage means for storing tray information indicating the name of the classification destination and the order in which the classification destination is displayed as a tray; path information, mail attribute information, header information, and classification information corresponding to each electronic mail A mail object storing means for storing a mail object having: an electronic mail based on an instruction from the input means; E-mail editing means for displaying the contents of the e-mail stored in the e-mail storage means based on an instruction from the input means; and mail in the e-mail object storage means based on an instruction from the input means. Header information display means for formatting the header information and mail attribute information of the object so that they can be listed in the form of `` one mail object per line '' and displaying the header information in a header information display area on the screen; A tray display area, which is a symbol display area including each tray display section and a tray symbol display section corresponding to each sort destination of the electronic mail, is displayed beside the header information display area on the screen, and the mail object storage means Refer to the classification information of the mail object, "A certain e-mail is classified to a certain classification destination" Organizing email retrieval device, characterized in that it comprises a tray display means for displaying the tray symbol display unit to the appropriate document symbol indicating. 2. A tag is added to a mail object corresponding to a line on the screen selected by the instruction based on the instruction from the input means, and the memo is reflected in the header information display area on the screen. An additional information display unit for displaying a symbol and displaying the contents of a tag corresponding to the memo symbol on the screen selected by the instruction based on the instruction from the input unit; and a tag added by the additional information display unit. 2. The electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: said mail object storage means for storing a mail object including additional information having the following contents. 3. An e-mail condition retrieving means for retrieving each e-mail stored in the e-mail storage means according to a retrieval condition inputted together with the instruction based on the instruction from the input means; Tray information storage means for creating and storing tray information as two sort destinations, and a search result for each email by the email condition search means added to the sort information included in each corresponding mail object and stored. The mail object storage unit refers to the tray information corresponding to the search condition stored in the tray information storage unit and the classification information about the search condition added to the mail object in the mail object storage unit, and corresponds to the search condition. Add the tray display section for the tray to be displayed to the tray display area on the screen and display it 3. The electronic mail organizing and searching device according to claim 1, further comprising the tray display unit. 4. A mail symbol indicating a specific e-mail stored in the e-mail storage means, wherein a board display area, which is a two-dimensional symbol display area, is displayed on a screen based on an instruction from the input means. In the board display area, and the mail object storing means for storing a mail object including display position information of a mail symbol on the board display area displayed by the board display means. The electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail organizing and retrieving apparatus is characterized in that: 5. In accordance with an instruction from said input means, a position of a pointer pointed to by said input means is monitored, and a line in a header information display area where said pointer is located is displayed.
A detailed header information display unit for displaying, on a screen, a detailed header information display window in which header information included in a mail object corresponding to one of a line in the tray display area and a mail symbol in the board display area is described; 5. The e-mail organizing and searching device according to claim 1, wherein the e-mail is arranged and retrieved.