JP5909932B2 - Mail program, mail device, and mail display method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mail program, a mail device, and a mail display method for displaying a mail to be browsed among a series of related electronic mails in an easy-to-understand manner for a user.

  Conventionally, transmission of information using electronic mail is routinely performed. Furthermore, in the past, a large amount of mail has been sent and received due to the spread of mail culture. Therefore, conventionally, in order to manage a large amount of mails, a method of managing related mails by distributing them to a predetermined mailbox is known.

  For example, conventionally, there has been known a method of analyzing the attached information (sender, transmission date, etc.) of the received mail and distributing the received mail to an electronic mailbox set by the user. Also, conventionally, when the user A and the user B are communicating between the two parties, when the user A opens a reply mail from the user B, the user A sends it to the user B in the exchange. There is known a method for displaying a transmitted mail (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP-A-6-250950 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-88426

  Here, for example, considering the example of determining the distribution folder for received mail according to the mail address of the sender, create folders for each individual such as “Yamada”, “Sato”, “Yamamoto”,. If it is, the mail is stored in one of the folders according to the address of the sender. In an example other than an individual, for example, group units (for example, department, company, WG (working group)) and the like can be processed in the same manner by assigning them to a predetermined mailing list for each group. As another example, a predetermined keyword can be automatically included in a title at the time of transmission, and the keyword can be sorted by the keyword.

  Here, as for folder distribution, for example, it is assumed that mail exchange (transmission / reception) of one topic is performed three or more times. In the following description, users A to D are assumed as characters.

  For example, the user A transmits an electronic mail (mail 1) addressed to a plurality of people (users B to D). Next, among the users B to D who have received the mail 1, the user B sends a reply email (mail 2) of the mail 1 to the user A and other destinations (users C and D). Send.

  At this time, since the user C is a recipient of the mail 1 transmitted by the user A and the mail 2 transmitted by the user B, the user C started the mail software of his terminal (hereinafter referred to as “mailer” as necessary). There may be multiple unread emails about a topic at that time.

  Further, when the user D who has received the mail 1 and the mail 2 transmits an email (mail 3) to the user A in response to the mail 2, the user A has the mail 2 and the user D transmitted by the user B. A plurality of mails including the transmitted mail 3 may be held in an unread state.

  That is, the user C and the user A described above may have two or more unread mails, and the senders of the two or more unread mails may be different users (addresses).

  Here, the user C and the user A use the conventional method as shown in Patent Document 2 described above to select a folder, and further specify an unread mail, thereby unread undistributed to a plurality of folders. Browse emails in any order.

  However, for example, user C first selects unread mail (for example, mail 1 in the folder for user A), and unread mail generated after time series (for example, mail 2 in the folder for user B). It may be possible to browse earlier.

  In such a case, in the latest state of a series of emails, although the discussion has progressed to the state of email 2, it will reply to email 1 which is a past email, etc. Often it becomes efficient. The phenomenon described above is the same when the user A browses the mail 2 before the mail 3.

  Furthermore, in the conventional method as shown in Patent Document 1 described above, when the user A opens the mail 2 or the mail 3, the mail 1 transmitted by the user A can be viewed. However, in the conventional method as shown in Patent Document 1, it is impossible to inform the user of the location of the latest mail among a plurality of unread mails generated for a certain mail. It is not possible to display in a user-friendly manner the mail that should be browsed among e-mails.

  Therefore, conventionally, when the related mail exists in different folders by the automatic distribution function to each folder or the like, it is impossible to notify the user of the location of the latest mail in which the discussion is most advanced.

  In view of such a problem, the disclosed technology is characterized in that a mail to be browsed among a series of related electronic mails is displayed in an easy-to-understand manner to the user.

A mail program according to an aspect of the disclosure stores relevance of a plurality of e-mails addressed to a user in a first storage unit, and is based on a distribution condition when each of the plurality of e-mails is distributed to a plurality of folders. The plurality of e-mails distributed to one or a plurality of folders are stored in a second storage unit, and the plurality of e-mails addressed to the user are distributed to the first folder selected by the user For one or more specified emails, the related one or more emails are specified based on the first storage unit, and a second folder to which the specified one or more emails are distributed is specified. Create a screen that is acquired from the second storage unit and displays the information of the second folder on the terminal of the user together with the information of one or more emails distributed to the first folder That, the processing is executed by a computer, and wherein the process of identifying, accepting the selection of e-mail by the user from the electronic mail that is distributed to the first folder, to after the e-mail which is received the selection It is characterized in that the one or more received e-mails are related to the e-mail that has received the selection .

  According to the disclosed technology, it is possible to easily display a mail to be viewed among a series of related electronic mails to the user.

It is a figure which shows one structural example of the mail system in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the mail server in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the client terminal in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions which can implement | achieve mail processing in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of data of distribution condition DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of mail DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of user authentication DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of reply management DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of setting DB. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the mail program in 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the preparation process procedure of the mail list screen classified by folder in 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the preparation process procedure of the message preparation screen in 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the display program in 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the transmission processing procedure in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the message display screen in 1st Example. It is FIG. (1) which shows an example of the mail list screen classified by folder in 1st Example. It is FIG. (2) which shows an example of the mail list screen classified by folder in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the mail server in 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the client terminal in 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the example of data of mail DB by the side of the mail server in 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the example of data of mail DB by the side of a client terminal in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the mail program in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the newest message information detection processing procedure in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the transmission processing procedure in the mail server of 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the display program in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the preparation processing procedure of the mail list screen classified by folder in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the transmission processing procedure in the client terminal of 2nd Example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First embodiment: system configuration example>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a mail system in the first embodiment. A mail system 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a mail server 11 and client terminals 12-1 to 12-n. The mail server 11 and the client terminals 12-1 to 12-n are connected in a state where data can be transmitted and received by a communication network 13 represented by the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), and the like.

  The mail server 11 is a mail device that manages transmission / reception of individual mails to the client terminals 12-1 to 12-n. Therefore, the mail server 11 collects and manages the transmission mail and the reception mail for each of the client terminals 12-1 to 12-n. The mail server 11 includes, for example, a reply management DB (first storage unit), a mail DB (second storage unit), a user authentication DB, and a setting DB as a database (hereinafter abbreviated as “DB”). And each DB such as a distribution condition DB. Each DB has a function of acquiring information to be stored by itself and storing several items in association with each other. The mail server 11 manages the user of the client terminal 12 using each DB described above.

  Further, the mail server 11 has a mail program installed in the mail server 11 in order to realize the mail processing and the like in the first embodiment.

  The client terminal 12 has a display program (for example, a browser display program) installed in the client terminal 12 in order to display the contents of the mail sent from the mail server 11. Further, the client terminal 12 confirms an appropriate mail from the mail distributed by the mail server 11 by using the display program, or replies to the contents described in the displayed mail contents. The client terminal 12 includes a terminal used by a client who is a sender (also referred to as a sender) or a receiver (also referred to as a destination or a receiver).

  In FIG. 1, the relationship between the mail server 11 and the client terminal 12 is 1: n. However, the relationship is not limited to this. For example, a relationship of m: n (m, n is 1 or more) may be used. .

<First Example: Functional Configuration Example of Mail Server 11>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the mail server in the first embodiment. In FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, the client terminal 12-1 used by the sender client and the client terminal 12-2 used by the recipient client send and receive data to and from the mail server 11. It shall be connected in a possible state. Therefore, in the following description, “user” includes the meanings of the sender and recipient of mail using the mail system 10 in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the sender can also be a recipient, and conversely, the recipient can also be a sender. In the example of FIG. 2, the client terminal 12 is simply shown for convenience of explanation, but the configuration of the client terminal 12 will be described later.

  The mail server 11 shown in FIG. 2 has a mail program 20A. The mail program 20A includes a mail reception unit 21, a mail distribution unit 22, a mail transmission request reception unit 23, a mail transmission unit 24, a display request reception unit 25, a user authentication unit 26, and a display screen transmission unit 27. And a folder information receiving unit 28 and a folder-specific mail list screen transmitting unit 29. Further, the mail server 11 includes, as DBs, a distribution condition DB 31, a mail DB (second storage unit) 32, a user authentication DB 33, a reply management DB (first storage unit) 34, and a setting DB 35. Have

  The mail receiving unit 21 receives mail transmitted from the sender's client terminal 12-1. The mail receiving unit 21 outputs the received mail to the mail sorting unit 22.

  The mail distribution unit 22 is based on information such as the sender (sender) and destination (recipient) of the mail obtained from the mail reception unit 21 and the distribution condition to the folder preset in the distribution condition DB 31. The received mail is distributed to a predetermined folder set by the destination client. The destinations described above include, for example, destinations indicated in CC (Carbon Copy), BCC (Blind Carbon Copy), and the like. The mail distribution unit 22 stores the distributed mail in the mail DB 32 and manages it.

  The mail transmission request receiving unit 23 receives an electronic mail transmission request from the client terminal 12-2 as a recipient. At this time, the mail transmission request receiving unit 23 may receive the mail itself. In the first embodiment, for example, Web mail by browser display is used by the display program 40A of the client terminal 12. In that case, only the transmission request is received. In addition, the transmission request reception unit 23 outputs a transmission request for the received mail to the mail transmission unit 24.

  When the mail transmission unit 24 obtains the transmission request from the mail transmission request reception unit 23, the mail transmission unit 24 accumulates the mail content displayed on the browser of the client terminal 12 in the mail DB 32 managed for each user (client). That is, in the first embodiment, for the recipient client terminal 12-2, the receiving folder is sorted and the sending folder is not sorted. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, distribution may be performed according to the destination or the like.

  The display request receiving unit 25 receives a display request from the client terminal 12-2 used by the recipient. The display request means a request for displaying a mail list screen created by the mail server 11 using, for example, the browser function of the client terminal 12-2, but is not limited thereto. The display request receiving unit 25 outputs a display request from the client terminal 12-2 to the user authentication unit 26.

  The user authentication unit 26 displays an input screen for user information (for example, user ID, password, etc.) in response to a display request from the client terminal 12-2 obtained by the display request receiving unit 25, for example, and the client terminal User information is input from 12-2. In addition, the user authentication unit 26 performs user authentication by determining whether or not the input user information exists in the user authentication DB 33. If the authentication is OK (available), the user authentication unit 26 outputs user information and a display request to the display screen transmission unit 27. In addition, if the authentication error has occurred, the user authentication unit 26 creates a message screen to that effect and controls to display the message screen on the display unit of the client terminal 12-2.

  The display screen transmission unit 27 is a screen creation unit that creates a display screen of a mail list for user information of authentication OK obtained by the user authentication unit 26. The display screen transmission unit 27 refers to the mail DB 32, acquires received mail, transmitted mail, address book, and other various setting information corresponding to the user of the user information, and displays the acquired various information in a browser. Create a screen to let In addition, the display screen transmission unit 27 outputs information about the created display screen to the folder information reception unit 28.

  When there is a folder selection from the client terminal 12-2, the folder information receiving unit 28 receives the selected folder information. The folder information includes, for example, folder information having one or a plurality of hierarchies such as subfolders. The folder information receiving unit 28 outputs the acquired folder information to the folder-specific mail list screen transmitting unit 29.

  The folder-by-folder mail list screen sending unit 29 creates a folder-by-folder mail list screen for the mails contained in the mail DB 32 based on the folder information obtained by the folder information receiving unit 28 and the conditions obtained from the reply management DB 34. This is a screen creation unit.

  Note that the mail included in the mail DB 32 is already sorted and stored in a predetermined folder by the mail sorting unit 22 described above. Therefore, the folder-by-folder mail list screen transmission unit 29 specifies a target folder based on the folder information and the like, acquires the specified folder mail, and creates a mail list screen. Further, the folder-specific mail list screen transmission unit 29 identifies mail to be browsed from a series of related electronic mails, and displays the identified mail in an easy-to-understand manner, for example, based on setting information stored in the setting DB 35. To create a mail list screen. Further, when specifying a mail, for example, for one or a plurality of electronic mails received after the electronic mail selected by the user, an electronic mail related to the selected electronic mail may be specified. . The contents of the displayed screen will be described later.

  The folder-by-folder mail list screen transmission unit 29 transmits information for viewing the folder-by-folder mail list screen from the screen of the display unit of the target client terminal 12-2. Thereby, the client terminal 12-2 can display the mail list screen classified by folder on the display unit.

  Here, the distribution condition DB 31 described above has distribution conditions for distributing the contents of mail (new mail) sent to the mail server 11 to a preset distribution destination folder (for example, a subfolder). Stored. That is, in the first embodiment, a plurality of e-mails are distributed to a plurality of folders based on the distribution conditions stored in the distribution condition DB 31.

  The mail DB 32 stores mail information and the like for each user who uses mail. In addition, the mail DB 32 stores received mail or transmitted mail sorted according to the sorting conditions described above.

  The user authentication DB 33 stores, for example, a user ID and a password in association with each other, and is used when the client terminal 12 is authenticated.

  The reply management DB 34 stores relevance to a plurality of e-mails addressed to users. Specifically, the reply management DB 34 stores, for example, the message ID of the current mail and the message ID of the original article in association with each other. That is, in the reply management DB 34, when there is a reply source in the mail, the mail information (for example, mail ID (mail identification information)) and the reply source mail information (for example, reply source mail information ID) are associated with each other and managed. To do. Therefore, the reply management DB 34 stores information for associating a sender before reply and a sender after reply as relevance of a plurality of e-mails. Note that the information stored in the reply management DB 34 is not limited to this, and may be any information that can be associated with a plurality of e-mails.

  The setting DB 35 stores setting information such as what kind of display is to be performed when displaying mail on the client terminal 12. That is, in the first embodiment, for example, when displaying a mail list screen for each folder, setting conditions for displaying a mail to be browsed among a series of related electronic mails in an easy-to-understand manner are stored. .

  Each of the client terminals 12-1 and 12-2 has a display program 40 </ b> A and can refer to the contents of mail transmitted from the mail server 11 as necessary. That is, in the first embodiment, the above-described contents can be realized by Web mail using a browser or the like.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, for example, a mail list display of a reception folder (distributed destination folder) in the mail system 10 is realized. In the first embodiment, for example, a plurality of distribution destination folders (subfolders) are configured under the reception folder, and when the subfolders are selected, a list of mail distributed in the subfolders is displayed. Further, in the first embodiment, when displaying a list of mails, for example, when an unopened mail whose reply is the mail displayed in the list is in another folder, the display of the mail is changed to another mail. To be different. Thereby, in the first embodiment, it becomes possible to efficiently read a plurality of related mails connected in time series.

<First embodiment: functional configuration example of client terminal 12>
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the client terminal in the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, for convenience of explanation, the mail server 11 is simply shown, but the mail server 11 actually has the configuration shown in FIG.

  The client terminal 12 shown in FIG. 3 has a display program 40A. The display program 40A includes a mail display request unit 41, an authentication information transmission unit 42, a mail display unit 43, a mail transmission / reception request unit 44, a list screen reception unit 45 by folder, a list screen display unit 46 by folder, A folder selection information transmission unit 47.

  The mail display request unit 41 creates a request for displaying mail information for a user who uses the client terminal 12. In addition, the mail display request unit 41 outputs the created request information to the authentication information transmission unit 42.

  When the mail display request unit 41 acquires the mail display request, the authentication information transmission unit 42 acquires authentication information for the mail server 11 in order to display the mail information by accessing the mail server 11 from the client terminal 12. Further, the authentication information transmission unit 42 outputs the acquired authentication information and a mail display request to the mail display unit 43.

  Note that the above-described authentication information is, for example, user information (for example, a user ID or a password). The authentication information may be stored in a memory (storage unit) included in the authentication information transmission unit 42 or may be input every time a user makes a mail display request using an input unit such as a keyboard. .

  The mail display unit 43 displays mail information corresponding to the mail display request obtained from the mail server 11 on the screen of a display unit such as a display, based on the authentication information obtained from the authentication information transmission unit 42 and the mail display request. . Note that a mail browsing screen (for example, a mail display screen, a mail list screen for each folder) and the like are created by the mail server 11.

  The mail transmission / reception request unit 44 requests the mail server 11 to transmit and receive (view) mail. The mail transmission / reception request in the mail transmission / reception request unit 44 is made based on, for example, a display request obtained from the mail display unit 43.

  The folder-specific list screen receiving unit 45 receives information on the folder-specific list screen created by the mail server 11. The folder list screen receiving unit 45 outputs the received information on the folder list screen to the folder list screen display unit 46.

  The folder-specific list screen display unit 46 displays the folder-specific list screen obtained by the folder-specific list screen receiving unit 45 on the screen of a display unit such as a display. The folder-specific list screen display unit 46 also displays folder selection information selected by the user for a plurality of subfolders (distribution destination folders) preset by the user displayed on the screen. Output to. Note that the folder is selected based on, for example, a content that is instructed by a user who has browsed the folder-specific list screen via an input unit such as a keyboard or a touch panel.

  The folder selection information transmission unit 47 transmits folder selection information obtained from the folder-specific list screen display unit 46 to the mail server 11. Thereby, the folder list screen receiving unit 45 can receive the folder list screen created by the mail server 11 corresponding to the folder selection information. Accordingly, the folder-specific list screen receiving unit 45 outputs the folder-specific list screen based on the received folder selection information by the folder-specific list screen display unit 46, so that the folder-specific list screen display unit 46 outputs the target folder-specific list. A screen can be displayed. The above-described configurations are provided in both client terminals 12-1 and 12-2.

<Hardware configuration example>
Here, in the mail server (mail device) 11 and the client terminal 12 described above, an execution program (for example, a mail program, a display program) that can cause a computer to execute each function is created, for example, a general-purpose personal computer, Mail processing or the like can be realized by installing the execution program in a server, a portable terminal, a game machine, or the like.

  Here, a hardware configuration example of a computer capable of realizing mail processing in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing mail processing in the first embodiment.

  4 includes an input device 51, an output device 52, a drive device 53, an auxiliary storage device 54, a memory device 55, a central processing unit (CPU) 56 that performs various controls, and a network connection device. 57 are connected to each other by a system bus B.

  The input device 51 has a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse operated by a user or the like, and inputs various operation signals such as execution of a program from the user or the like.

  The output device 52 has a display for displaying various windows and data necessary for operating the computer main body for performing each process in the first embodiment. Etc. can be displayed.

  Here, the execution program installed in the computer main body is provided by, for example, a portable recording medium 58 such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory or a CD-ROM. The recording medium 58 on which the program is recorded can be set in the drive device 53, and the execution program included in the recording medium 58 is installed in the auxiliary storage device 54 from the recording medium 58 via the drive device 53.

  The auxiliary storage device 54 is a storage means such as a hard disk, and can store the execution program in the first embodiment, a control program provided in the computer, and the like, and can perform input / output as necessary.

  The memory device 55 stores an execution program or the like read from the auxiliary storage device 54 by the CPU 56. Note that the memory device 55 includes a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and the like.

  The CPU 56 controls processing of the entire computer, such as various operations and input / output of data with each hardware component, based on a control program such as an operating system (OS) and an execution program stored in the memory device 55. Thus, each process in the mail process can be realized. Various information necessary during the execution of the program can be acquired from the auxiliary storage device 54, and the execution result and the like can also be stored.

  The network connection device 57 obtains an execution program from another terminal connected to the communication network by connecting to a communication network or the like, or an execution result obtained by executing the program or the first embodiment. The execution program itself can be provided to other terminals.

  The mail processing can be executed by the hardware configuration as described above. Also, by installing the program, mail processing can be easily realized by a general-purpose personal computer or the like. Each process in the mail process will be described later.

<Example database>
In the following description, the database example shown in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the distribution condition DB. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the mail DB. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the user authentication DB. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the reply management DB. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the setting DB.

  The data items in the distribution condition DB 31 shown in FIG. 5 include, for example, “condition”, “distribution destination folder”, but are not limited thereto. The condition is, for example, at least one piece of information such as the address of the sender (sender) of the mail, the address of the recipient (destination), the title (subject), the text of the mail, and date / time information (for example, transmission date / time). This is a condition for distributing the target mail to any of a plurality of distribution destination folders.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 5, when the sender address of the received mail is “yamada@xxx.ww”, it is set to be distributed to “Yamada folder”. In the example of FIG. 5, similarly, when “tanaka@xxx.ww”, “sato@xxx.ww”, and “suzuki@xxx.ww”, “Tanaka folder”, “Sato folder”, “ Conditions for distribution to the “Suzuki folder” are set. In the case of a sender address not satisfying the above conditions, it is distributed to a normal reception folder.

  Note that the conditions shown in FIG. 5 are not limited to the sender address, and as described above, based on the conditions for the recipient address, title, mail text, etc., or a combination of these conditions, etc. Distribution to a predetermined distribution destination folder is possible. Furthermore, the conditions shown in FIG. 5 are not limited to received mails, and sorting conditions can be set for sent mails.

  The items of the mail DB 32 shown in FIG. 6 include, for example, “user ID”, “folder name”, “message ID”, “opening status”, “sender”, “destination”, “send date”, “mail information” However, it is not limited to this. Further, the “mail information” may be further subdivided to have items such as “title” and “text”.

  The mail DB 32 manages, for each user ID, the mail opening status, sender, destination, transmission date and time, and mail information (title, text, etc.) stored in any of the folders. In the example of FIG. 7, the mail information having only the user ID “honda@xxx.ww” is stored, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of clients (users) registered in the mail server 11 are not limited thereto. ) Mail is managed every time. In the configuration of the mail DB 32 shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to manage what kind of mail is stored for each folder, and also manage the opening status of each mail.

  The data items of the user authentication DB 33 shown in FIG. 7 include, for example, “user ID”, “password”, etc., but are not limited thereto. The user ID corresponds to identification information of a user who uses the client terminal 12 described above, and a mail address is used in the example of FIG. That is, the user authentication DB 33 identifies and authenticates the user based on the user ID and password with respect to access from the client terminal 12, and has authority to use the mail system 10 (or the mail server 11). It is a DB for judging whether or not there is.

  The items in the reply management DB 34 illustrated in FIG. 8 include, for example, “current message ID”, “original article message ID (reply source message ID)”, and the like, but are not limited thereto. In the reply management DB 34, in order to associate a series of related electronic mails, the message ID for the current mail and the message ID of the reply source are registered in association with each other.

  That is, in the reply management DB 34, as the relevance of the e-mail, each sender and destination of a plurality of e-mails is paired, and the same e-mail is associated with either the sender or the destination. Thereby, in the reply management DB 34, it is possible to easily grasp what reply route the mail follows to the present.

  The items in the setting DB 35 illustrated in FIG. 9 include, for example, “normal”, “latest mail”, “reply unopened”, and the like, but are not limited thereto. The setting DB 35 stores, for example, a setting for highlighting a mail to be viewed among a series of related electronic mails when displaying a list screen of mail by folder. In FIG. 9, an example of highlighting the background color is set as an example. For example, the background color is white for normal mail, the background color is red for the latest mail, and the reply is not opened. If there is an e-mail, it is displayed in gray. Note that the condition stored in the setting DB 35 is not limited to the background color described above, and may be, for example, highlighted display for the character color. The highlighting may be blinking characters and background colors, etc., and the characters may be bolded, the font size enlarged, predetermined characters and symbols, warning marks etc. displayed. Also good. In the first embodiment, a warning sound such as a buzzer may be output together with the above-described highlight display or separately from the highlight display. The settings described above can be stored in the setting DB 35.

<Example of Processing Procedure of Mail Program 20A in Mail Server 11 of First Embodiment>
In the following description, an example of a processing procedure of the mail program 20A in the mail server 11 of the first embodiment described above will be described using a flowchart.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the mail program in the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 10, the mail program 20A determines whether or not a mail use request has been received from the client terminal 12 (S01). If not received (NO in S01), the mail program 20A returns to S01 and receives it. Wait until. In the following description, it is assumed that whether or not the message has been received is determined, for example, whether or not the message has been received within a predetermined time.

  In addition, when the mail program 20A is received (YES in S01), the mail program 20A determines whether or not authentication has been completed (S02).

  If the mail program 20A has not been authenticated (NO in S02), the mail program 20A transmits a user ID and password input screen to the client terminal 12 (S03).

  Next, the mail program 20A determines whether or not a user ID and password have been received as user information (S04). If not received (NO in S04), the process returns to S04 until there is reception. stand by. In addition, when the mail program 20A is received (YES in S04), the mail program 20A performs authentication using the user authentication DB 33 (S05).

  Next, the mail program 20A determines whether or not the authentication is OK (S06). If the authentication is OK (YES in S06), the mail in the reception folder and the folder name are received from the user ID mail DB 32. Obtain (S07). Note that the mail program 20A performs the process of S07 in the same manner if it has been authenticated in the process of S02 (YES in S02).

  Next, the mail program 20A determines whether or not a new mail exists in the folder (S08). If the new mail exists in the folder (YES in S08), the mail program 20A is stored in the sorting condition DB 31. Based on the sorting condition, the new mail is sorted and recorded in the mail DB 32 (S09).

  In addition, the mail program 20A sorts the mails acquired from the mail DB 32 in the order of date after the completion of the process of S09 or when new mail does not exist in the folder in the process of S08 (NO in S08). Further, the mail program 20A creates a mail display screen (for example, a reception folder) in which the acquired folder name is described as a folder selection information transmission request button (S10).

  Next, the mail program 20A transmits a mail display screen of the user ID to the client (S11). Here, the mail program 20A determines whether or not the folder selection information has been received from the client terminal 12 (S12). When the folder selection information is received (YES in S12), the mail of the folder is acquired from the mail DB 32. (S13). Further, the mail program 20A creates a folder-specific mail list screen (S14). The creation process of the folder-specific mail list screen will be described later.

  If the mail program 20A has not received the folder selection information after the completion of the processing of S14 or in the processing of S12 (NO in S12), whether or not the mail transmission processing has been received from the client terminal 12 next. Is determined (S15). When the mail program 20A receives the mail transmission process (YES in S15), the mail program 20A performs a message creation screen creation process (S16). The message creation screen creation process will be described later.

  If the mail program 20A does not receive the mail transmission process from the client terminal 12 after the process of S16 or in the process of S15 described above (NO in S15), whether or not the predetermined information is received from the client terminal. Is determined (S17). The predetermined information in the processing of S17 is, for example, a destination, a title, a text, a message ID, header information, etc., but is not limited thereto.

  If mail program 20A has not received the predetermined information (NO in S17), it returns to S17 and waits until it is received. In addition, when the mail program 20A receives predetermined information in the process of S17 (YES in S17), the mail program 20A registers (transmits) the destination, title, text, and message ID in the mail DB 32 corresponding to the destination.

  Note that the mail program 20A ends the process as it is when the mail transmission process is not received from the client terminal 12 in the process of S15 (NO in S15). Further, if the authentication is not OK in the process of S06 described above (NO in S06), the mail program 20A creates an authentication error screen, transmits it to the client terminal 12 (S19), and ends the process.

<S14: Folder-by-folder mail list screen creation processing procedure>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure for creating a mail list screen for each folder according to the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 11, the mail program 20A determines whether or not the message ID of the mail in the folder is included in the original article message ID column, for example, as the original article message information of the reply management DB 34 (S21). ).

  Here, when the message ID of the mail in the folder is included in the original article message ID column (YES in S21), the mail program 20A acquires the current message ID corresponding to the original article message ID from the reply management DB 34 ( S22). Next, the mail program 20A determines whether or not the message ID of the mail exists in the original article message ID of the reply management DB 34 (S23).

  If the mail program 20A exists in the original article message ID of the reply management DB 34 (YES in S23), the process returns to S22. Further, when the mail program 20A does not exist in the original article message ID of the reply management DB 34 (NO in S23), the mail program 20A acquires the folder name in which the acquired newest message ID is stored from the mail DB 32 (S24).

  Next, the mail program 20A determines whether or not the acquired folder is the same as the currently displayed folder (S25). If the acquired folder is the same as the currently displayed folder (YES in S25), the mail program 20A acquires, for example, data corresponding to the latest mail from the setting DB 35 (S26). Further, the mail program 20A uses the latest mail data (setting conditions) acquired from the setting DB 35 to display the mail, for example, in a form in which, for example, the word “latest” is written next to the latest mail line. A mail list display screen is created (S27).

  If the acquired folder and the currently displayed folder are not the same in the processing of S25 described above (NO in S25), the mail program 20A receives data corresponding to the unopened reply mail (setting condition) from the setting DB 35. ) Is acquired (S28). In addition, the mail program 20A describes the display of the mail using the unopened reply data (setting condition) from the setting DB 35, for example, the name of the folder containing the newest mail as the folder selection information transmission request button. In this manner, a mail list display screen is created (S29).

  Also, in the above-described processing of S21, the mail program 20A, when the message ID of the mail in the folder is not included in the original article message ID column (NO in S21), the normal mail data (setting) from the setting DB 35 (Condition) is acquired (S30). Further, the mail program 20A creates a mail list display screen in accordance with the data (setting conditions) acquired from the setting DB 35 for the display of all mails (S31). In this case, the folder name is not displayed on the line.

  In the process described above, it is more preferable to acquire the latest unopened mail. In that case, the reply management DB 34 and the opening status of the mail DB 32 are used to acquire the oldest mail from the latest acquired mail and determine whether or not it is unopened. You can get an email. Further, in the above-described processing, when there is no setting condition corresponding to the setting DB 35, for example, the mail list display screen may be created as it is without performing special processing such as highlighting.

<S16: Message Creation Screen Creation Processing Procedure>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a message creation screen creation process procedure according to the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 12, the mail program 20A creates a message ID and header information (S41), and determines whether this mail returns other mail (S42). Here, if the mail program 20A returns another mail (YES in S42), the message ID of this mail is placed in the current article message ID column in the reply management DB 34, and the original article (reply source article). Is recorded in the original article message ID column (S43). The mail program 20A creates a message creation screen with the reply destination as the destination (S44).

  If the mail program 20A does not return another mail in the processing of S42 described above (NO in S42), the mail program 20A creates a message creation screen with the destination blank (S45). Further, the mail program 20A transmits a message creation screen to the client terminal after the processing of S44 and S45 is completed (S46).

<Example of Processing Procedure of Display Program 40A in Client Terminal 12>
In the following description, a processing procedure example of the display program 40A in the client terminal 12 will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the display program in the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 13, the display program 40A first determines whether or not a mail use request has been received from the user (S51). If the mail use request has not been received (NO in S51), display program 40A returns to S51 and waits until a mail use request is received.

  Further, when the display program 40A receives a mail use request (YES in S51), the display program 40A transmits a mail use request to the mail server 11 (S52). Next, the display program 40A determines whether or not a user ID / password input screen has been received from the mail server 11 as a screen for inputting user information (S53). Here, when the display program 40A has not received the screen (NO in S53), the display program 40A returns to S53 and waits until the screen is received. Further, when the display program 40A receives the above screen (YES in S53), the display program 40A displays a user ID and password input screen (S54).

  Here, the display program 40A determines whether or not an input of a user ID and a password has been accepted (S55). If the input has not been accepted (NO in S55), the process returns to S55 until the input is received. stand by. Further, when the display program 40A receives the above input (YES in S55), the display program 40A transmits the user ID and password as user information to the mail server 11 (S56). Note that user information such as a user ID and a password may be input by an input unit or the like included in the client terminal 12, or may be stored in advance in a storage unit such as a memory.

  Next, the display program 40A determines whether or not an authentication error screen has been received (S57). If the authentication error screen has not been received (NO in S57), the mail display screen has been received from the mail server 11. Whether or not (S58). If the mail display screen has not been received from mail server 11 (NO in S58), display program 40A returns to S58 and waits until the mail display screen is received from mail server 11. Further, when receiving the mail display screen from the mail server 11 (YES in S58), the display program 40A displays the mail display screen on the display unit (mail display unit 43) (S59).

  Next, the display program 40A determines whether or not selection of a folder name has been accepted (S60). When selection of a folder name is accepted (YES in S60), folder selection information is transmitted to the mail server 11 ( S61). Further, the display program 40A determines whether or not the folder-by-folder mail list screen has been received from the mail server 11 (S62).

  If the folder-by-folder mail list screen has not been received from the mail server 11 (NO in S62), the display program 40A returns to S62 and waits until the folder-by-folder mail list screen is received from the mail server 11. In addition, when the display program 40A receives the mail list screen for each folder from the mail server 11 (NO in S62), the display program 40A displays the mail list screen for each folder on the display unit (the list screen display unit 46 for each folder) (S63). .

  If the selection of the folder name has not been accepted after the processing of S63 or in the processing of S60 described above (NO in S60), the display program 40A determines whether a mail transmission request has been accepted (S64). When the display program 40A receives a mail transmission request (YES in S64), the display program 40A performs mail transmission processing (S65). The mail transmission process will be described later.

  If the mail transmission request is not accepted after the process of S65 or in the process of S64 described above (NO in S64), the process is terminated.

  Further, when the display program 40A receives an authentication error screen in the process of S57 described above (YES in S57), the display program 40A displays the authentication error screen on the display unit (S66) and ends the process.

<S65: Transmission processing procedure>
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a transmission processing procedure in the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 14, the display program 40A transmits a message creation request to the mail server 11 (S71), and determines whether a message creation screen has been received from the mail server 11 (S72).

  If the message creation screen has not been received (NO in S72), display program 40A returns to S72 and waits until the message creation screen is received. Further, when receiving the message creation screen (YES in S72), the display program 40A displays the message creation screen (S73). Further, the display program 40A accepts input of, for example, a destination, a title, an article text, etc. (S74).

  Here, the display program 40A determines whether or not a message transmission request has been accepted (S75). If no message transmission request has been accepted (NO in S75), the process returns to S75 and waits until a message transmission request is accepted. . Further, when the display program 40A receives a message transmission request (YES in S75), for example, the display program 40A transmits a destination, a title, and an article body to the mail server 11 (S76).

  In the first embodiment, the processes shown in FIGS. 10 to 14 described above correspond to the mail process in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, for example, even if a series of related mails are sorted into a plurality of folders according to the sorting conditions according to each processing procedure described above, the latest exchange is performed in consideration of the exchange of the series of mails. The mail location of is displayed. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the newest mail can be quickly found and read. In other words, in the first embodiment, old mail can be skipped. Thereby, in the first embodiment, there is an effect that a series of related mails can be easily read.

<Screen example in the first embodiment>
In the following description, a screen example in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a message display screen in the first embodiment. Note that the message display screen 60 shown in FIG. 15 shows an example of displaying mail in the reception folder. The message display screen 60 shown in FIG. 15 has an inbox display area 61, a button area 62, and an in-folder list display area 63, but is not limited to this.

  In the message display screen 60 shown in FIG. 15, the folder contents of the received folder are displayed in the folder list display area 63. In the inbox display area 61, the receiving folder and the subfolder name which is the lower hierarchy are displayed, and the number of unopened cases for each folder is displayed. In the example of FIG. 15, it can be seen that there are 1 unreceived received mail in the received folder, 2 in the Yamada folder, 3 in the Tanaka folder, and 2 in the Suzuki folder. It can be seen that there is no opened received mail.

  The folder information and the mail information in the folder can be acquired by the mail DB 32. Further, the inbox display area 61 displays the folder name to be displayed as a “folder selection information transmission request button”. Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 15, by selecting a folder, received mail included in the folder can be displayed in the list display area 63 in the folder. In the example of FIG. 15, among all received emails, folders are sorted and stored by the recipient, but the sorting method is not limited to this, and is based on the sorting condition DB 32. Can be set arbitrarily.

  In the example of FIG. 15, the button area 62 includes a message creation button and a logout button. In the example of FIG. 15, the sender, the transmission date / time, and the subject are displayed in the list display area 63 in the folder. The displayed items, order, display format, etc. are not limited to this.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a mail list screen by folder in the first embodiment. FIG. 16 shows an example in which mails in the subfolder “Tanaka” are displayed. As with the message display screen 60 described above, the folder-by-folder mail list screen 70 in FIG. 16 has an inbox display area 71, a button area 72, and an in-folder list display area 73.

  In the mail list screen 70 for each folder in FIG. 16, a plurality of received mails are displayed in the list display area 73 in the folder. At this time, the unopened mail is displayed in bold so that it can be distinguished from the opened mail. Further, in the first embodiment, from among a series of related e-mails, an e-mail to be browsed is selected from unopened e-mails, and the folder destination is displayed in the folder list display area 73. In the example of FIG. 16, the Suzuki folder is shown as a folder with the latest related mail. In other words, it is possible to easily grasp that the latest mail of the mail whose subject is “News Party Notice” is stored in the “Suzuki” folder. In addition, when displaying the location (for example, folder name) of the latest mail, etc., by highlighting one or both of the background color and characters of the line, a series of related electronic messages are given to the user. It is possible to easily identify the presence of mail that should be browsed from mail.

  In the first embodiment, when a list of e-mails addressed to the user is displayed on the mail list screen 70 for each folder, either or both of the e-mail and the location where the e-mail to be viewed exists are highlighted. be able to. In the example of FIG. 16, for example, the button area 72 or the like indicates that “the unopened mail from which this mail is returned is in another folder.” As described above, in the first embodiment, it is possible to notify the user so that the user can clearly understand the meaning of the highlighted mail. The display content described above is created based on setting conditions stored in the setting DB 35, for example.

  Further, in the example of FIG. 16, the user can display the Suzuki folder by selecting the character “Suzuki” in the folder list display area 73. In the first embodiment, when “Suzuki” is selected, a message can be directly displayed. In that case, for example, the mail text is acquired based on the message ID, and the acquired content is displayed on the screen.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating an example of the mail list screen by folder in the first embodiment. FIG. 17 shows an example in which a mail list in the subfolder “Suzuki” is displayed. The mail list screen by folder 80 in FIG. 17 has an inbox display area 81, a button area 82, and an in-folder list display area 83, similar to the message display screen 60 described above.

  In FIG. 17, the mail corresponding to the characters “Suzuki” shown in the above-mentioned folder list display area 73 of FIG. 16 is displayed in the folder list display area 83. That is, the mail displayed in the first line of the in-folder list display area 83 shown in FIG. 17 is a mail that the user should particularly browse among a series of related electronic mails. In the example of FIG. 17, “Latest” characters are displayed on the right side of the target mail. Thereby, in 1st Example, a user can be made to grasp | ascertain easily that it is the newest mail (mail which should be browsed). The displayed characters are not limited to the “latest” described above.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in the folder list display area 83 of FIG. 17, when displaying the latest mail or the like, one or both of the background color and characters of the line can be highlighted. . In the first embodiment, when displaying a list of one or more e-mails stored in a folder on the display unit, among predetermined e-mails, symbols, marks, and highlights, At least one can be added and displayed. Thereby, in the first embodiment, it is possible to notify the user so that the user can easily understand the existence of mail to be browsed from a series of related electronic mails.

  In the first embodiment, when a list of e-mails addressed to users in a predetermined folder is displayed on the per-folder mail list screen 80, the e-mail to be browsed and the mail to be browsed are notified. Either or both of the information (eg, “latest”) can be highlighted. In the example of FIG. 17, for example, “This mail indicates the latest mail for exchange” is displayed in the button area 82 or the like.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, it is possible to notify the user so that the user can clearly understand the meaning of the highlighted mail. Moreover, the display content mentioned above is produced based on the setting conditions stored, for example in setting DB35 grade | etc.,.

  In the first embodiment described above, one or more e-mails related to the e-mail selected by the user among a plurality of e-mails addressed to the user are specified based on the reply management DB 34. Further, in the first embodiment described above, a folder to which one or more specified electronic mails are distributed is acquired from the mail DB 32, and the acquired folder information is displayed on the screen of the user's terminal.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, for example, when a plurality of mails related to the mail A exist in different folders and the latest unread mail related to the unread mail exists in another folder, the information is notified, The user can grasp the latest situation regarding the mail A. Note that the email information to be notified to the user is not limited to the latest unread email. For example, the latest email including the already read email may be used. It may be an email for an important person set in advance. In the first embodiment, for example, an e-mail related to the selected e-mail may be specified for one or a plurality of e-mails received after the e-mail selected by the user.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the mail to be browsed among a series of related electronic mails can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner for the user. In the first embodiment, for example, a plurality of replies may be made to the same mail. In this case, a plurality of lines having the same original article message ID in the reply management DB 32 are described. Therefore, in the first embodiment, it is preferable that the latest mail is detected for each of the plurality of current message IDs, and the latest mail folder is displayed among the detected latest mails.

  In the first embodiment, only the mail folder with the newest time is displayed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the number may be displayed in order from the mail with the newest time. Thereby, in the first embodiment, for example, when related mails are distributed to a plurality of folders, it is possible to confirm with the user in order of the time when the mails are received.

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment described above, for example, the configuration in which the client terminal 12 browses mail using so-called Web mail or the like has been described. As another embodiment, the mail processing described above can be applied to a client terminal equipped with so-called POP (Post Office Protocol) type mail software (mailer) such as OUTLOOK (registered trademark). In the following description, an embodiment corresponding to the above-described content will be described as a second example. As the system configuration of the mail system in the second embodiment, the same configuration as in the first embodiment can be applied, and a specific description thereof will be omitted here.

<Second Embodiment: Functional Configuration Example of Mail Server 11>
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the mail server in the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 18, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the client terminal 12 used by the recipient client (user) is connected to the mail server 11 in a state where data can be transmitted and received. In the example of FIG. 18, the client terminal 12 is simply shown for convenience of explanation, but the configuration of the client terminal 12 in the second embodiment will be described later.

  The mail server 11 shown in FIG. 18 has a mail program 20B. The mail program 20B includes a mail transmission request reception unit 23, a mail transmission unit 24, a new mail request reception unit 91, a user authentication unit 26, a new mail transmission unit 92, an in-folder mail information reception unit 93, A latest mail information transmission unit 94. The mail server 11 includes a mail DB 32, a user authentication DB 33, and a reply management DB 34 as DBs.

  The mail transmission request receiving unit 23 receives a mail transmission request from the client terminal 12-2, which is a recipient, as in the first embodiment described above. At this time, the mail transmission request receiving unit 23 may receive the mail itself. In addition, the transmission request reception unit 23 outputs a transmission request for the received mail to the mail transmission unit 24.

  When the mail transmission unit 24 acquires the transmission request from the mail transmission request reception unit 23, the mail content of the transmission mail displayed on the mailer of the client terminal 12 is stored in the mail DB 32 managed for each user (client). Accumulate. In the so-called POP type mailer as shown in the second embodiment, unreceived mail is stored on the mail server 11 side, and received mail is stored in the mail DB on the client terminal 12 side regardless of whether it is opened or not opened. Is done.

  The new mail request receiving unit 91 receives a new mail request from the client terminal 12. The new mail request means, for example, a request for transmitting unsent mail stored in the mail server 11 to the client terminal 12 using the mailer function of the client terminal 12, but is not limited thereto. Absent. The new mail request receiving unit 91 outputs the received new mail request to the user authentication unit 26.

  When the user authentication unit 26 acquires a new mail request from the new mail request receiving unit 91, user information (for example, user ID, password, etc.) sent from the client terminal 12-2 is stored in the user authentication DB 33. User authentication is performed by determining whether or not it exists. If the authentication is OK (available), the user authentication unit 26 outputs user information and a new mail request to the new mail transmission unit 92. Note that the user authentication unit 26 controls to create a message screen to that effect and display it on the display unit of the client terminal 12 if an authentication error has occurred.

  The new mail transmission unit 92 refers to the mail DB 32 based on the authentication OK user information obtained by the user authentication unit 26 and acquires the contents of the new mail corresponding to the user. Specifically, the new mail transmission unit 92 refers to the mail DB 32 to acquire a received mail corresponding to the user of the user information and transmits the acquired information to the client terminal 12 that requested the new mail. Create information for The new mail transmission unit 92 outputs the created new mail information to the in-folder mail information receiving unit 93.

  The in-folder mail information receiving unit 93 acquires mail information in a predetermined folder selected by the user for the new mail obtained by the new mail sending unit 92. The mail information includes, for example, mail identification information (mail ID), but is not limited thereto. The in-folder mail information receiving unit 93 outputs the received mail information in the folder to the latest mail information transmitting unit 94.

  The latest mail information transmitting unit 94 refers to the mail DB 32 and the reply management DB 34 based on the mail information obtained from the in-folder mail information receiving unit 93, and is used as a mail to be browsed among a series of related electronic mails. The latest mail information corresponding to the folder selected by the user is detected. Further, the latest mail information transmission unit 94 transmits the latest detected mail information to the client terminal 12. Thereby, in the client terminal 12, the content of the mail transmitted from the mail server 11 can be displayed on the screen of the display unit using the mailer function or the like by the display program 40B.

<Second Embodiment: Functional Configuration Example of Client Terminal 12>
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the client terminal according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 19, for convenience of explanation, the mail server 11 is simply shown, but the mail server 11 has the configuration shown in FIG. In the following description, components that perform substantially the same processing as in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted here.

  Further, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment described above, as an example of a mail to be browsed among a series of related e-mails, a process for causing a user to view the latest mail of related mails will be described. To do. In the second embodiment, the type and number of emails to be browsed are not limited to this.

  The client terminal 12 shown in FIG. 19 has a display program 40B. The display program 40B includes a new mail request unit 101, an authentication information transmission unit 42, a new mail reception unit 102, a mail distribution unit 103, a mail display unit 43, a mail transmission unit 104, and an in-folder mail information transmission unit. 105, a latest mail information receiving unit 106, an in-folder mail acquisition unit 107, a folder-by-folder mail list screen creation unit 108, and a folder-by-folder list screen display unit 46. Further, the client terminal 12 includes a distribution condition DB 111, a mail DB 112, and a setting DB 113 as DBs.

  The new mail request unit 101 receives a request for new mail from a user. The request for new mail may be instructed by the user through an input unit such as a keyboard, or may be set in advance so as to be periodically requested every predetermined time. The new mail request unit 101 outputs a new mail request to the authentication information transmission unit 42.

  When the new mail request section 101 acquires a new mail request, the authentication information transmission section 42 acquires authentication information for the mail server 11 in order to access the mail server 11 and acquire new mail information. Further, the authentication information transmitting unit 42 outputs the acquired authentication information and a mail display request to the new mail receiving unit 102.

  The new mail receiving unit 102 receives new mail based on the authentication information obtained by the authentication information transmitting unit 42. The new mail receiving unit 102 outputs the received new mail to the mail sorting unit 103.

  As with the mail server 11 of the first embodiment described above, the mail distribution unit 103 refers to the distribution condition DB 111 for new mail obtained from the new mail receiving unit 102, and puts the mail into a predetermined folder. Perform distribution. Further, the mail distribution unit 103 refers to the mail DB 112 in order to display the mail on the mailer, and acquires the mail corresponding to the user. The acquired mail may include not only unopened (unread) mail but also open (read) mail, and may also include received mail, transmitted mail, draft mail, and the like.

  The mail display unit 43 displays the mail information obtained by the mail distribution unit 103 on the screen of a display unit such as a display. Note that a screen for browsing mail is displayed by a mailer or the like of the client terminal 12. The mailer in the second embodiment is created by the display program 40B. In addition, since the mail screen (for example, FIG. 15) of 1st Example mentioned above can be applied to the mail display screen displayed on the mail display part 43, the specific description here is abbreviate | omitted.

  The mail transmission unit 104 transmits mail to the mail server 11. In addition, the mail transmission in the mail transmission part 104 transmits the content of the mail which the user etc. produced using the screen etc. which are displayed on the mail display part 43 to the mail server 11, for example.

  The in-folder mail information transmission unit 105 transmits the mail information in the folder set by the user based on the content displayed by the mail display unit 43 and the mail information obtained by the mail DB 112. The mail information is, for example, mail identification information (mail ID), but is not limited to this. The in-folder mail information transmission unit 105 can also transmit to the mail server 11 mail information obtained from a folder-specific list screen display unit 46 according to an instruction from a user or the like.

  The latest mail information receiving unit 106 receives the latest mail information transmitted from the mail server 11. Further, the latest mail information receiving unit 106 outputs the received latest mail information to the in-folder mail acquisition unit 107.

  The in-folder mail acquisition unit 107 acquires a mail corresponding to the latest mail from the mail DB 112. The in-folder mail acquisition unit 107 outputs the acquired mail information to the folder-specific mail list screen creation unit 108.

  The folder-by-folder mail list screen creation unit 108 is a screen creation unit that creates a folder-by-folder list screen based on the mail information obtained from the in-folder mail acquisition unit 107 as in the first embodiment. The folder-by-folder mail list screen creation unit 108 outputs the created folder-by-folder list screen to the folder-by-folder list screen display unit 46.

  The folder list screen display unit 46 displays the folder list screen obtained from the folder mail list screen creation unit 108 on a display unit such as a display. The folder-by-folder list screen displayed on the folder-by-folder list screen display unit 46 can be the same screen as the folder-by-folder list screen (for example, FIGS. 16 and 17) of the first embodiment described above. The detailed description of is omitted.

  The folder-by-folder list screen display unit 46 outputs, to the in-folder mail information transmission unit 105, the contents of the in-folder mail that is input by the user or the like through the input unit such as a keyboard or a touch panel. Thereby, the latest mail based on the mail information for each folder can be acquired.

  In the mail server (mail device) 11 and the client terminal 12 in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, an execution program (for example, a mail program) that can cause a computer to execute each function is created. By installing the execution program in a general-purpose personal computer, server, portable terminal, game machine, etc., mail processing or the like can be realized.

  Here, an example of the hardware configuration of a computer capable of realizing mail processing in the present embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration in the first embodiment described above, and a specific description thereof will be omitted here.

<Example database>
Here, a database example shown in the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the distribution condition DB 111 and the setting DB 113 provided on the mail server 11 side in the first embodiment are provided on the client terminal 12 side. As the distribution condition DB 111 and the setting DB 113, the distribution condition DB 31 and the setting DB 35 in the first embodiment can be applied as they are. Further, the contents of the first embodiment can be applied to the user authentication DB 33 and the reply management DB 34 in the second embodiment as they are.

  Furthermore, in the second embodiment, a mail DB is provided on both the mail server 11 side and the client terminal 12 side. Therefore, the mail DB will be mainly described as an example database in the second embodiment.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of data in the mail DB on the mail server side in the second embodiment. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a data example of the mail DB on the client terminal side in the second embodiment.

  The items in the mail DB 32 shown in FIG. 20 include, for example, “user ID”, “folder name”, “message ID”, “answer request”, “sender”, “destination”, “send date”, “mail information”. However, it is not limited to this. 21 include, for example, “user ID”, “folder name”, “message ID”, “opening status”, “answer request”, “sender”, “destination”, “ The transmission date / time ”,“ mail information ”, and the like are not limited thereto. 20 and 21 may be further subdivided to have items such as “title” and “text”.

  In the second embodiment, the mail information stored in the mail DB 32 of the mail server 11 is unsent mail information that has not been transmitted to the client terminal 12, and is deleted immediately or after a predetermined period has elapsed after transmission. is there.

  The mail DB 32 of the mail server 11 manages the above-described information for each user ID, and the client terminal 12 manages only the mail information of the user (user) of the terminal.

  That is, in the so-called POP type mailer in the second embodiment, for example, unreceived mail is stored in the mail DB 32 on the mail server 11 side. In the second embodiment, what is received by the client terminal 12 is stored in the mail DB 112 on the client terminal 12 side regardless of whether it is opened or not. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the mail DB 112 on the client terminal 12 side includes an item “open status”.

<Example of Processing Procedure of Mail Program 20B in Mail Server 11 of Second Embodiment>
In the following description, a processing procedure example of the mail program 20B in the mail server 11 of the second embodiment will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the mail program in the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 22, the mail program 20B determines whether a new mail request has been received from the client terminal 12 (S81). If no new mail request has been received (NO in S81), the process returns to S81. Wait until there is reception. In addition, when a new mail request is received (YES in S81), the mail program 20B transmits a user ID and password input request to the client terminal 12 (S82).

  Next, the mail program 20B determines whether, for example, a user ID and a password are received from the client terminal 12 as user information (S83). If not received (NO in S83), the process proceeds to S83. Return and wait for reception. In addition, when the user ID, password, or the like is received (YES in S83), the mail program 20B performs authentication using the user authentication DB 33 (S84).

  Next, the mail program 20B determines whether or not the authentication is OK (S85). If the authentication is OK (YES in S85), the mail program 20B receives the user ID from the mail DB (on the mail server 11 side) as user information. New mail information corresponding to the user ID is acquired (S86). Next, the mail program 20B transmits the acquired new mail information to the client terminal 12 (S87).

  Next, the mail program 20B determines whether or not intra-folder mail information (for example, intra-folder mail ID) has been received from the client terminal 12 (S88). When the mail program 20B receives the mail ID in the folder from the client terminal 12 (YES in S88), the mail program 20B performs the latest message information (for example, latest message ID) detection process (S89). The latest message information detection process will be described later.

  Whether the mail program 20B has received the predetermined information from the client terminal when the mail ID in the folder has not been received from the client terminal 12 after the process of S89 or in the process of S88 described above (NO in S88). It is determined whether or not (S90). The predetermined information in the process of S90 is, for example, a destination, a title, a text, a message ID, header information, etc., but is not limited to this.

  When the mail program 20B receives the predetermined information (YES in S90), the mail program 20B performs mail transmission processing (S91). The mail transmission process will be described later. If mail program 20B does not receive the predetermined information (NO in S90), it immediately ends the process. Note that the mail program 20B creates an authentication error screen, transmits it to the client terminal 12 (S92), and terminates the process if authentication is not OK in the process of S85 described above (NO in S85).

<S89: Latest Message Information Detection Processing Procedure>
FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the latest message information detection processing procedure in the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 23, the mail program 20B determines whether or not the received message ID is included in the original article message ID column of the reply management DB 34 (S101). If the received message ID is included in the original article message ID column of the reply management DB 34 (YES in S101), the mail program 20B acquires the current message ID corresponding to the original article message ID from the reply management DB 34 (S102). .

  Next, the mail program 20B determines whether the message ID of the mail exists in the original article message ID of the reply management DB 34 (S103). If the message ID of the mail does not exist in the original article message ID of the reply management DB 34 (NO in S103), the mail program 20B transmits, for example, the newest message ID to the client terminal 12 (S104). If the message ID of the mail exists in the original article message ID of the reply management DB 34 (YES in S103), the mail program 20B returns to S102.

  Further, the mail program 20B transmits the received message ID to the client terminal 12 when the received message ID is not included in the original article message ID column of the reply management DB 34 in the processing of S101 described above (NO in S101). (S105).

<S91: Transmission processing procedure>
FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a transmission processing procedure in the mail server according to the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 24, the mail program 20B determines from the received header information whether this mail returns another mail (S111). The mail program 20B performs the following process when this mail returns another mail based on the received header information (YES in S111). Specifically, the mail program 20B records the message ID of this mail in the current article message ID column and the message ID of the original article (reply source article) in the original article message ID column in the reply management DB 34 (S112). .

  In addition, the mail program 20B performs the following process after the process of S112 or in the process of S111 described above, when this mail does not return another mail (NO in S111). Specifically, the mail program 20B registers (sends) the destination, title, text, and message ID in the mail DB 32 corresponding to the destination (S113).

<Example of Processing Procedure of Display Program 40B in Client Terminal 12 of Second Embodiment>
In the following description, a processing procedure example of the display program 40B in the client terminal 12 of the second embodiment will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the display program in the second embodiment.

  In the example of FIG. 25, the display program 40B determines whether a new mail reception request has been received from the user (S121). If the new mail reception request is not received (NO in S121), the display program 40B returns to S121 and waits until the new mail reception request is received.

  When receiving a new mail reception request (YES in S121), the display program 40B transmits a new mail reception request to the mail server 11 (S122). Next, the display program 40B determines whether or not a user ID and password input request has been received from the mail server 11 (S123). Here, when the request is not received (NO in S123), the display program 40B returns to S123 and waits until it is received. Further, when receiving the request (YES in S123), the display program 40B displays a user ID and password input screen (S124).

  Here, the display program 40B determines whether or not an input of a user ID and a password is accepted as user information (S125). If the input is not accepted (NO in S125), the process returns to S125. Wait for the above input. Further, when receiving the input (YES in S125), the display program 40B transmits the user ID and password to the mail server 11 (S126). Note that the user ID and password may be input by an input unit or the like included in the client terminal 12, or may be stored in advance in a storage unit such as a memory.

  Next, the display program 40B determines whether or not an authentication error screen has been received (S127). If the authentication error screen has not been received (NO in S127), the display program 40B sends new mail information as an email. It is determined whether it has been received from the server 11 (S128).

  If the new mail information is not received from the mail server 11 (NO in S128), the display program 40B returns to S128 and waits until new mail information is received from the mail server 11. In addition, when the mail program 40B receives new mail information from the mail server 11 (YES in S128), the mail program 40B sends the mail to a folder of the mail DB 112 (client terminal 12 side) based on the sorting condition of the sorting condition DB 111. Sort (S129). Further, the display program 40B sorts, for example, mails acquired from the mail DB 112 in order of date, and creates a mail display screen (reception folder) in which the acquired folder name is described as a folder selection information transmission request button (S130). Thereafter, the mail program 40B displays a mail display screen on the display unit (mail display unit 43) (S131).

  Next, the display program 40B determines whether or not the selection of the folder name has been accepted (S132). If the selection of the folder name is accepted (YES in S132), the display DB 40B (from the client terminal 12 side) The mail in the folder is acquired (S133). Further, the display program 40B transmits the in-folder message ID to the mail server 11 (S134).

  Next, the display program 40B determines whether or not the latest message ID has been received (S135). If the latest message ID has not been received (NO in S135), display program 40B returns to S135 and waits until the latest message ID is received.

  When receiving the latest message ID (YES in S135), the display program 40B creates a mail list screen for each folder using the mail (S136). If the selection of the folder name is not accepted in the above-described process 132 (NO in S132), the display program 40B creates a mail list screen for each folder as it is. The creation process of the folder-specific mail list screen will be described later.

  Next, the display program 40B displays the mail list screen for each folder obtained by the process of S136 on the display unit (list screen for each folder display unit 46) (S137). Further, the display program 40B determines whether or not a mail transmission request has been accepted (S138), and when a transmission request is accepted (YES in S138), performs a mail transmission process (S139). The mail transmission process will be described later.

  The display program 40B ends the process after receiving the mail transmission request after the process of S139 or in the process of S138 (NO in S138). When the display program 40B receives an authentication error screen in the process of S127 (YES in S127), the display program 40B displays the authentication error screen (S140) and ends the process.

<S136: Folder-by-folder mail list screen creation processing procedure>
FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure for creating a mail list screen for each folder according to the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 26, the display program 40B determines whether or not the acquired message ID is the same as the current message ID (S151). If the acquired message ID and the current message ID are not the same (NO in S151), the display program 40B acquires the folder name in which the acquired newest message ID is stored from the mail DB 112 (S152).

  Next, the display program 40B determines whether or not the acquired folder is the same as the currently displayed folder (S153). If the acquired folder is the same as the currently displayed folder (YES in S153), the display program 40B acquires data corresponding to the latest mail from the setting DB (S154). In addition, the display program 40B uses the latest mail data (setting conditions) acquired from the setting DB 113 to display the mail, and displays the mail list in the form of the word “latest” beside the latest mail line. A display screen is created (S155). In the above-mentioned example, an example in which a character to that effect is displayed in the latest mail is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the user should know the mail to be browsed from a series of related emails. It only has to be easy to display.

  If the acquired folder and the folder currently being displayed are not the same in the processing of S153 described above (NO in S153), the display program 40B reads data corresponding to the reply unopened mail (setting condition) from the setting DB 113. ) Is acquired (S156). In addition, the display program 40B uses the data (setting condition) with the reply unopened from the setting DB 113 to display the mail, and describes the name of the folder with the newest mail as the folder selection information transmission request button. Then, a mail list display screen is created (S157).

  Further, the display program 40B acquires normal mail data (setting conditions) from the setting DB 113 when the acquired message ID is the same as the current message ID in step S151 described above (YES in S151). (S158). Further, the display program 40B creates a mail list display screen in accordance with the data (setting conditions) acquired from the setting DB 113 for displaying all mails (does not display the folder name in the row) (S159).

  In the process described above, it is more preferable to acquire the latest unopened mail. Further, in the above-described processing, if there is no setting condition corresponding to the setting DB 113, a mail list display screen is created as it is without performing special processing such as highlighting.

<S139: Transmission Processing Procedure>
FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a transmission processing procedure in the client terminal according to the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 27, the display program 40B displays a message creation screen on the display unit (mail display unit 43) (S161). Next, the display program 40B accepts input of a destination, a title, and an article body (S162). Further, the display program 40B creates a message ID and header information (S163).

  Here, the display program 40B determines whether a message transmission request has been accepted (S164). If the message transmission request has not been received (NO in S164), display program 40B returns to S164 and waits until the message transmission request is received. Further, when receiving a message transmission request (YES in S164), the display program 40B transmits the destination, title, article body, message ID, and header information to the mail server 11 (S165).

  In the second embodiment, the processes shown in FIGS. 22 to 27 described above correspond to the mail process in the second embodiment, but partially perform the same processes as in the first embodiment.

  In addition, since the same screen as the screen example in the first embodiment described above can be applied to the screen example in the second embodiment, a specific description thereof is omitted here. In the first embodiment, the browser is displayed by the display program 40A, but in the second embodiment, it is displayed on the display unit of the client terminal 12 by mail software (mailer) to which the display program 40B is applied.

  In the second embodiment, by the processing steps described above, as in the first embodiment, a mail to be viewed among a series of related electronic mails can be displayed and notified to the user in an easy-to-understand manner. For example, in the above-described embodiment, when a subfolder including a sorted mail is selected and a list screen is displayed, a plurality of mails to be displayed are searched for a mail that is a reply source, and the other folders are searched. Is present and is an unopened mail. In such a case, by displaying the mail list differently so that the target mail indicates the folder name of the mail that is the reply source, the mail to be viewed among a series of related e-mails Can be displayed and displayed on the screen in an easy-to-understand manner for the user.

  Therefore, by applying the above-described embodiment, for example, when a plurality of mails related to mail A exist in different folders, a notification to that effect is given when the latest unread mail related to unread mail exists in another folder. can do. Thus, the user can easily grasp the latest situation regarding the mail A. In the above-described embodiment, the user may notify the user of the location of the latest mail among the related mails, including unread (unopened) and read (opened). The user may be notified of the location of the latest mail among related mails. In the above-described embodiment, the received mail has been described. Similarly, regarding the sent mail, the mail to be browsed among a series of related electronic mails can be displayed and notified to the user in an easy-to-understand manner.

  The first and second embodiments described above can also be applied in combination. Therefore, one or both of the client terminal of the first embodiment and the client terminal of the first embodiment can be included in the client terminals 12-1 to 12-n of the mail system 10 shown in FIG. In that case, in the mail program 20A, 20B or the like of the mail server 11, which type of terminal the client terminal 12 that has accessed is based on user information (for example, user ID or password). Management is performed and the above-described processing is executed in accordance with the form of the terminal.

  Each embodiment has been described in detail above, but is not limited to a specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope described in the claims.

In addition, the following additional remarks are disclosed regarding the above Example.
(Appendix 1)
Storing relevance of a plurality of e-mails addressed to users in the first storage unit;
Based on the sorting conditions when each of the plurality of emails is sorted into a plurality of folders, the plurality of emails sorted into one or more folders are stored in a second storage unit,
Of the plurality of e-mails addressed to the user, one or more e-mails related to the e-mail selected by the user are identified based on the first storage unit,
Acquire the folder to which the identified one or more electronic mails are sorted from the second storage unit, and create a screen for displaying the information of the folder on the user's terminal. Mail program for.
(Appendix 2)
Supplementary note 1 characterized in that, in the specifying process, the one or a plurality of electronic mails received after the electronic mail selected by the user is specified and an electronic mail related to the selected electronic mail is specified. Email program described in.
(Appendix 3)
The mail program according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the one or more electronic mails include unread mail.
(Appendix 4)
Any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein when displaying a list of e-mails addressed to the user on the screen, either or both of the e-mail and the folder in which the selected e-mail exists are highlighted. The mail program according to item 1.
(Appendix 5)
When displaying a list of e-mails addressed to the user on the screen, either or both of the selected e-mail and information for notifying that it is an e-mail to be browsed are highlighted. The mail program according to any one of appendices 1 to 4.
(Appendix 6)
The information for notifying that the electronic mail is to be browsed is displayed by adding at least one of predetermined characters, symbols, marks, and highlights. Mail program.
(Appendix 7)
As the relevance of the e-mail, each sender and destination of the plurality of e-mails are paired, and the same mail is associated with either the sender or the destination and stored in the first storage unit The mail program according to any one of appendices 1 to 6, wherein:
(Appendix 8)
A first storage unit for storing relevance of a plurality of e-mails addressed to users;
A second storage unit for storing the plurality of emails distributed to one or a plurality of folders based on a distribution condition when each of the plurality of emails is distributed to a plurality of folders;
Of the plurality of e-mails addressed to the user, one or more e-mails related to the e-mail selected by the user are identified based on the first storage unit,
A screen creation unit for obtaining a folder to which the identified one or more e-mails are distributed from the second storage unit and creating a screen for displaying information on the folder on the terminal of the user; A mail device characterized by.
(Appendix 9)
Storing relevance of a plurality of e-mails addressed to users in the first storage unit;
Based on the sorting conditions when each of the plurality of emails is sorted into a plurality of folders, the plurality of emails sorted into one or more folders are stored in a second storage unit,
Of the plurality of e-mails addressed to the user, one or more e-mails related to the e-mail selected by the user are identified based on the first storage unit,
It has a process of acquiring a folder to which the identified one or more e-mails are distributed from the second storage unit and creating a screen for displaying information on the folder on the terminal of the user. E-mail display method.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mail system 11 Mail server 12 Client terminal 13 Communication network 20 Mail program 21 Mail reception part 22 Mail distribution part 23 Mail transmission request reception part 24 Mail transmission part 25 Display request reception part 26 User authentication part 27 Display screen transmission part (screen Production Department)
28 Folder Information Receiving Unit 29 Folder-specific Mail List Screen Transmitting Unit (Screen Creation Unit)
31, 111 distribution condition DB
32,112 mail DB (second storage unit)
33 User authentication DB
34 Reply management DB (first storage unit)
35,113 Setting DB
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 40 Display program 41 Mail display request | requirement part 42 Authentication information transmission part 43 Mail display part 44 Mail transmission / reception request | requirement part 45 List screen display part classified by folder 46 List screen display part classified by folder 47 Folder selection information transmission part 51 Input device 52 Output device 53 Drive Device 54 Auxiliary storage device 55 Memory device 56 CPU
57 Network connection device 58 Recording medium 60 Message display screen 61, 71, 81 Inbox display area 62, 72, 82 Button area 63, 73, 83 Folder list display area 70, 80 Mail list screen by folder 91 New mail request reception Unit 92 New mail transmission unit 93 In-folder mail information reception unit 94 New mail information transmission unit 101 New mail request unit 102 New mail reception unit 103 Mail distribution unit 104 Mail transmission unit 105 In-folder mail information transmission unit 106 New mail information reception unit 107 Mail acquisition unit in folder 108 Mail list screen creation unit by folder (screen creation unit)

Claims (7)

Storing relevance of a plurality of e-mails addressed to users in the first storage unit;
Based on the sorting conditions when each of the plurality of emails is sorted into a plurality of folders, the plurality of emails sorted into one or more folders are stored in a second storage unit,
Of the plurality of e-mails addressed to the user, for one or more e-mails distributed to the first folder selected by the user, one or more related e-mails are stored in the first storage. Based on the part,
The second folder to which the specified one or more electronic mails are distributed is acquired from the second storage unit, and the information of the second folder is transferred to the first folder. Creating a screen to be displayed on the user's terminal together with the e-mail information, causing the computer to execute the process,
The specifying process accepts the user's selection of an e-mail from among the e-mails distributed to the first folder, and the one or more e-mails received after the e-mail that accepted the selection An e-mail program that identifies an e-mail related to the e-mail that has received the selection.   The mail program according to claim 1, wherein the first folder and the second folder are different folders.   3. The mail program according to claim 1, wherein when displaying a list of e-mails addressed to the user on the screen, the second folder is highlighted.   When displaying a list of e-mails addressed to the user on the screen, either or both of the selected e-mail and information for notifying that it is an e-mail to be browsed are highlighted. The mail program according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   As the relevance of the e-mail, each sender and destination of the plurality of e-mails are paired, and the same mail is associated with either the sender or the destination and stored in the first storage unit The mail program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: A first storage unit for storing relevance of a plurality of e-mails addressed to users;
A second storage unit for storing the plurality of emails distributed to one or a plurality of folders based on a distribution condition when each of the plurality of emails is distributed to a plurality of folders;
Of the plurality of e-mails addressed to the user, for one or more e-mails distributed to the first folder selected by the user, one or more related e-mails are stored in the first storage. A second folder that is specified based on a section and to which the specified one or more electronic mails are distributed is acquired from the second storage section, and information on the second folder is obtained from the second folder. A screen creation unit for creating a screen to be displayed on the user's terminal together with the information of one or more e-mails distributed to
The screen creation unit
The one or more e-mails received after the e-mail selected by the user from among the e-mails distributed to the first folder and received after the e-mail received the selection, An e-mail device that identifies an e-mail associated with an e-mail that has been accepted. Mail device
Storing relevance of a plurality of e-mails addressed to users in the first storage unit;
Based on the sorting conditions when each of the plurality of emails is sorted into a plurality of folders, the plurality of emails sorted into one or more folders are stored in a second storage unit,
Of the plurality of e-mails addressed to the user, for one or more e-mails distributed to the first folder selected by the user, one or more related e-mails are stored in the first storage. Based on the part,
The second folder to which the specified one or more electronic mails are distributed is acquired from the second storage unit, and the information of the second folder is transferred to the first folder. Creating a screen to be displayed on the user's terminal together with the e-mail information of
The specifying process accepts the user's selection of an e-mail from among the e-mails distributed to the first folder, and the one or more e-mails received after the e-mail that accepted the selection An e-mail display method characterized by identifying an e-mail related to an e-mail that has received the selection.

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