JP3624726B2 - Mail status confirmation method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a mail status confirmation method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a mail status confirmation method and apparatus for confirming the status of another recipient user's mail in a group-addressed mail.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, in an office environment or the like, an opportunity to use an e-mail system for applications such as notification of communication items and delivery of documents is increasing. Unlike the telephone, the e-mail system can notify the user regardless of the presence or absence of the recipient user, and by setting a predetermined group for the recipient, Broadcast notifications can also be made.
[0003]
However, on the other hand, in the electronic mail system, unless the user on the receiving side refers to the received mail, the notification matter is not notified, and it cannot be said that it is a reliable notification means. As a method for preventing such unreference on the receiving side, the e-mail sending side can check whether or not the receiving user has referred to the mail. This is because, if it is found that the user at the receiving end does not refer to the mail on the transmission side, it is possible to separately notify the matters to be communicated.
[0004]
As a technique for confirming the mail reference state of the recipient user on the transmission side, “electronic mail reference confirmation device” described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-129515 and “electronic mail system” described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-56236 are known. Is proposed.
[0005]
The “electronic mail reference confirmation device” described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-129515 is a device that can confirm on the sender side whether or not the recipient has referred to the transmitted mail. The “electronic mail system” described in the publication is a system that can confirm whether or not each recipient has referred to mail transmitted to a plurality of destinations.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when a sender sends an email to a group using an e-mail system and all the members belonging to the group receive the email, only the sender determines whether or not the recipient has referred to the email. In addition, there is a demand that a user belonging to the group wants to check whether another user has referred to the mail. Such a request cannot be dealt with by the above-described conventional technology, and it is impossible to confirm the reference state of the mails of other users in the group.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a mail status confirmation method and apparatus capable of confirming the mail reference status of other users in the group that received the mail as well as the sender of the mail.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1
In the email status confirmation method to confirm the reference status of emails sent to the group,
The destination group name of the received mail is expanded to the user names of the users constituting the group, and the received mail reference state corresponding to each of the expanded user names is acquired and displayed.
[0009]
In the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1,
The reference state is
The received mail is information indicating whether the received mail is opened, unopened, or deleted.
[0010]
In the invention of claim 3, in the invention of claim 1,
Each user making up the group
It is characterized in that whether or not a reference state can be acquired by another user can be set as an attribute for the received mail.
[0011]
Further, in the invention of claim 4, in the invention of claim 1,
The sender of the email is
Whether or not a reference state can be acquired by a user other than the recipient of the mail can be set as an attribute for the mail to be transmitted.
[0012]
Further, in the invention of claim 5, in the invention of claim 4,
The sender of the email is
Whether or not the attribute can be changed by the user who has received the mail can be set for the mail to be transmitted.
[0013]
In the invention of claim 6,
In the mail status confirmation device that confirms the reference status of mail sent to the group,
A transmission means for sending an email;
Receiving means for receiving the mail transmitted by the transmitting means;
Address expansion means for expanding the destination group name of the mail received by the reception means into the user names of the users constituting the group;
It further comprises reference state acquisition means for acquiring the reference state of the received mail corresponding to each of the user names expanded by the address expansion means.
[0014]
In the invention of claim 7, in the invention of claim 6,
The reference state is
The received mail is information indicating whether the received mail is opened, unopened, or deleted.
[0015]
In the invention of claim 8, in the invention of claim 6,
The receiving means includes
An attribute setting unit is provided for setting whether or not the reference state acquisition unit of another user can acquire the reference state as an attribute for the received mail.
[0016]
In the invention of claim 9, in the invention of claim 6,
The transmission means includes
It comprises an attribute setting means for setting whether or not the reference state acquisition means of the user other than the recipient of the mail can acquire the reference state as an attribute.
[0017]
In the invention of claim 10, in the invention of claim 9,
The transmission means includes
A change permission / prohibition setting means is further provided for setting whether or not the attribute set by the attribute setting means can be changed for the mail to be transmitted.
[0018]
【Example】
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a mail status confirmation method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0019]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server (mail server) employing the mail status confirmation method and apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mail system including the server shown in FIG. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the server 1 includes a mail spool 11, a transmission processing unit 12, an address expansion unit 13, a group expansion table 14, and a request processing unit 15.
[0020]
The server 1 (1-1, 1-2, 1-3) is connected to the client 2 (2-1 to 2-4) via a network as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows an example in which three servers 1 and four clients 2 are connected. However, the number of servers 1 and clients 2 is not limited.
[0021]
When mail is transmitted using the server 1, the transmission processing unit 12 in the mail spool 11 from the transmission box 21 (21-1 to 21-4) of the client 2 via the request processing unit 15 of the server 1 Is stored in the predetermined area, for example, the area 11a if the mail is mail addressed to the user a. The mail stored in the area 11a of the mail spool 11 is transferred to the inbox 22 (22-1 to 22-4) of the client 2 for reference by the user a.
[0022]
Further, the server 1 can process mail addressed to a group composed of a plurality of users. When mail transmitted to a certain group is transferred to the server 1, the address expansion unit 13 The group name is expanded to each user constituting the group by referring to the group expansion table 14 in which the group members are registered, and the transmission processing unit 12 corresponds the mail to the user in the mail spool 11. Store in each area.
[0023]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the group expansion table 14, in which the group A is composed of users b, c, d, e, and f, and the group B is composed of users a, g, and h. Has been.
[0024]
Here, the operation of the server 1 at the time of mail transmission will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations of the server 1 at the time of mail transmission.
When the server 1 starts operating (step 101) and the request processing unit 15 receives a mail transmission request from the client 2 (YES in step 102), a mail ID for identification is assigned to the mail (step 103). .
[0025]
Next, if the mail address is a group (YES in step 104), the address expansion unit 13 refers to the group expansion table 14 to expand the address (group) to the user and sets the mail attribute (step 105). ). When the expansion of the address is completed or the address is not a group (NO in step 104), the transmission processing unit 12 transmits (stores) the mail to the corresponding area of the mail spool (step 106), and the mail The transmission operation is terminated (step 107).
[0026]
FIG. 5 is a view showing a mail transmission window at the time of mail transmission displayed on the display (not shown) of the client 2.
When the user transmits mail to the group, the group name, for example, A is entered in the address entry column 31 of the transmission window 30. In addition, the title of the email to be sent is entered in the subject entry column 32, and the content to be notified is entered in the comment entry column 33. The e-mail created in this way is sent to the server 1, and the e-mail ID is assigned as described above, and the address A is expanded to the users b, c, d, e, and f who are members of the group A. And stored in the areas 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, and 11f in the mail spool 11, respectively.
[0027]
By the way, for the mail sent to the group using the server 1, the user who has received the mail can check the mail status of other users in the group. Confirmation of the mail status of other users is performed by operating an inbox window indicating the status of the inbox 22.
[0028]
FIG. 6 is a view showing an inbox window displayed on the display of the client 2.
In a state where the mail with the mail ID “server1.1” and the mail with “server1.2” are stored in the inbox 22, the inbox window 40 has attributes of the stored mail as shown in FIG. 41 and 42 are displayed. The mail attributes displayed here are “mail ID”, “sender”, “transmission date / time”, “subject”, “recipient”, and “status check”.
[0029]
When checking the mail status of another user, a desired mail is selected by operating a keyboard or a mouse (not shown), and a predetermined operation is further performed to display a pop-up menu 43 (FIG. 6 shows an attribute 42). The pop-up menu 43 is displayed after selecting the e-mail). The pop-up menu 43 includes a received mail display menu 43-1 for displaying the contents of the selected mail, a delete menu 43-2 for deleting the selected mail, and a reply menu for replying to the selected mail. 43-3, there is a property menu 43-4 for confirming the mail status of other users.
[0030]
Here, when the property menu 43-4 is selected from the pop-up menu 43 in order to check the mail status of another user, a mail property window 50 as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display. The mail property window 50 displays a subject 51 and a mail status 52 of the mail.
[0031]
The mail status 52 displays the mail status of other users. In the case of FIG. 7, it is shown that the users b, c and d have been opened, the user e has not been opened, and the user f has been deleted. Yes.
[0032]
Next, the operation of the client 2 when checking the mail status will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations of the client 2 when checking the mail status.
When the client 2 displays the inbox window 40 (step 201) and the property menu 43-4 is selected by the user's operation and the property command is executed (YES in step 202), first, the expanded mail attribute is used. An address is acquired (step 203).
[0033]
Subsequently, the server 1 is inquired about the mail status for each of the expanded addresses (NO in step 204, step 205). When the inquiry for all addresses is completed (YES in step 204), the mail property window 50 is displayed. Is displayed and the mail status corresponding to the mail address is displayed (step 206), and the mail status confirmation process is terminated (step 207).
[0034]
In addition, the user who receives the mail can make settings so that the state of his mail cannot be confirmed by other users. To make the received mail in a state that cannot be confirmed by other users, the attribute 63 is selected from the attributes 61 to 63 while the inbox window 60 as shown in FIG. 9 is opened (displayed). The pop-up menu 64 is displayed, and setting is made so that other users cannot check the status of the attribute 63 mail by selecting and executing the disable menu 64-2 from the enable menu 64-1 and the disable menu 64-2. (Change) is possible.
[0035]
In this way, when a certain user, for example, user d, sets the mail status check to an impossible state, when another user (other than user d) checks the mail status, the property window 70 shown in FIG. As shown, the subject 71 and the mail status 72 are displayed, and the portion corresponding to the user d in the mail status 72 is displayed as a status that cannot be confirmed, such as “****”.
[0036]
Here, with reference to FIG. 11, the processing of each unit when the mail status confirmation disabled setting is performed will be described.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the mail status confirmation is disabled.
When the user opens the inbox window 60 (step 301), selects an e-mail to be disabled and selects the disable menu 64-2 (step 302), the inbox 22 (client 2) sends the server 1 Then, a request for setting the status confirmation impossible is transmitted together with the mail ID of the designated mail (step 303).
[0037]
Next, the server 1 that has received the request sets the mail with the designated mail ID to be incapable of status confirmation (step 304), and notifies the inbox 22 that the setting has been completed (step 305).
[0038]
Subsequently, the inbox 22 that has received the notification of setting completion changes the status confirmation field in the mail attribute to “impossible” (step 306), and the mail status confirmation disabling setting process is terminated (step 307).
[0039]
Next, a second embodiment of the mail status checking method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
In this second embodiment, the sender of the mail addressed to the group sets whether or not the mail status can be confirmed for each user in the group, and sets whether or not to allow this setting to be changed. Can do.
[0040]
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example of the transmission window in the second embodiment.
As shown in the figure, in the transmission window 80, in addition to the address entry field 81, the subject entry field 82, and the comment entry field 83, a state confirmation setting field 84 is displayed. In the status display setting field 84, a user name corresponding to the address (A in the figure) entered in the address entry field 81 is displayed. When the address is entered in the address entry field 81, the transmission box 21 (client 2) accesses the server 1 and obtains the user name that expands the group name.
[0041]
In the status display setting field 84, the names of users in the group are displayed, a confirmation impossible setting field for disabling mail status confirmation for each user, and a receiving-side change impossible setting for prohibiting a change in the mail confirmation state setting. Field is displayed, and the attribute of the mail to be sent can be set by setting in these setting fields (in the figure, the user e is set to be unable to check the mail status, and the user f is set to change the mail check status setting). Is set to prohibited).
[0042]
Here, the operation of the server 1 at the time of mail transmission in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations of the server 1 at the time of mail transmission in the second embodiment.
When the server 1 starts operating (step 401) and the request processing unit 15 receives a mail transmission request from the client 2 (YES in step 402), a mail ID for identification is assigned to the mail (step 403). .
[0043]
Next, if the mail address is a group (YES in step 404), the address expansion unit 13 refers to the group expansion table 14 to expand the address (group) to the user and sets the mail attribute (step 405). ). If the address expansion is completed or the address is not a group (NO in step 404), the address expansion unit 13 cannot check the status until the transmission process for all addresses is completed (NO in step 406). The status confirmation is set for the designated mail (YES in step 407, step 408), and if there is no designation (NO in step 407), the transmission processing unit 12 sends the mail to the corresponding area of the mail spool. Is transmitted (step 409). When the processes in steps 407 to 409 are performed for all addresses (YES in step 406), the mail transmission operation is terminated (step 410).
[0044]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the receiver of the mail transmitted to the group is configured to be able to check the mail status of other receivers in the group, important communication is performed by mail. In this case, it is possible to easily confirm whether or not the recipient has made a reference, and when the reference has not been made, the reliability of the contact by e-mail is improved, such as a separate contact.
[0045]
In addition, the recipient can set whether or not to check the mail status from others, and use this to check the status of the email, such as confirming the attendance of meetings, etc. (for example, if the disabled setting is absent) It is also possible to operate for other purposes.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server (mail server) employing a mail status confirmation method and apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mail system including the server shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a group development table 14;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations of the server 1 at the time of mail transmission.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a mail transmission window.
FIG. 6 shows an inbox window.
FIG. 7 is a view showing a mail property window.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations of the client 2 when checking the mail status.
FIG. 9 is a view showing an inbox window.
FIG. 10 is a view showing a mail property window.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when mail status confirmation is disabled.
FIG. 12 is a view showing a display example of a transmission window in the second embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation of the server 1 at the time of mail transmission in the second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 Server 2, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4 Client 11 Mail spool 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 11f Area 12 Transmission processing Unit 13 Address expansion unit 14 Group expansion table 15 Request processing unit 21, 21-1, 21-2, 21-3, 21-4 Outbox 22, 22-1, 22-2, 22-3, 22-4 Mailbox 30 Send window 31 Address entry field 32 Subject entry field 33 Comment entry field 40 Inbox window 41, 42 Mail attribute 43 Pop-up menu 43-1 Received mail display menu 42-2 Delete menu 43-3 Reply menu 43-3 Property menu 50 Mail properties window 51 Subject 52 Mail status 60 Inbox windows 61, 62, 63 Attributes 64 Pop-up Menu 64-1 can Menu 64-2 Call Menu 70 properties window 71 Subject 72 mail state 80 the transmission window 81 address entry space 82 Subject entry column 83 comment entry column 84 state confirmation setting column

Claims (10)

In the email status confirmation method to confirm the reference status of emails sent to the group,
A mail status characterized in that the destination group name of the received mail is expanded to the user names of the users constituting the group, and the received mail reference status corresponding to each of the expanded user names is acquired and displayed Confirmation method. The reference state is
2. The mail status confirmation method according to claim 1, wherein the received mail is information indicating whether the received mail has been opened, unopened, or deleted. Each user making up the group
The mail status confirmation method according to claim 1, wherein whether or not a reference state can be acquired by another user can be set as an attribute for the received mail. The sender of the email is
The mail status confirmation method according to claim 1, wherein whether or not a reference state can be acquired by a user other than the recipient of the mail can be set as an attribute for the mail to be transmitted. The sender of the email is
5. The mail status confirmation method according to claim 4, wherein whether or not the attribute can be changed by a user who has received the mail can be set for the mail to be transmitted. In the mail status confirmation device that confirms the reference status of mail sent to the group,
A transmission means for sending an email;
Receiving means for receiving the mail transmitted by the transmitting means;
Address expansion means for expanding the destination group name of the mail received by the reception means into the user names of the users constituting the group;
A mail status confirmation device comprising: reference status acquisition means for acquiring the reference status of received mail corresponding to each of the user names expanded by the address expansion means. The reference state is
The mail status confirmation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the received mail is information indicating whether the received mail is in an opened state, an unopened state, or a deleted state. The receiving means includes
7. The mail status confirmation apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising attribute setting means for setting whether or not the reference status of the other user can be acquired by the reference status acquisition means as an attribute. The transmission means includes
7. The mail status according to claim 6, further comprising attribute setting means for setting, as an attribute, whether or not a reference state can be acquired by the reference status acquisition means of a user other than the recipient of the mail. Confirmation device. The transmission means includes
10. The mail status confirmation apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising change permission / prohibition setting means for setting whether or not the attribute set by the attribute setting means can be changed for the mail to be transmitted.

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