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US 8,028,032 B2Granted
Email messages
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorTom Laird-McConnell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The described implementations relate to email messages. One technique detects a link to a web-site in an email message. The technique causes content from the web-site to be visualized on a common display area with the email message for a recipient of the email message.
Claims19
A system, comprising:
- an email application configured to:
- access an email thread, the email thread comprising:
- a first email sent by a first user, the first email comprising a reference to a first web-site that is bound to the first email;
- a second email, the second email comprising a response to the first email by a second user, the second email further comprising a reference to a second web-site that is bound to the second email;
- and
- display the email thread, including the first email and the second email, wherein at least the first email is displayed on a first portion of a graphical window;
- and,
- a browser module associated with the email application and configured to:
- automatically retrieve content from the first web-site based on the reference to the first web-site in the first email;
- automatically retrieve content from the second web-site based on the reference to the second web-site in the second email;
- and
- concurrently display, with the email thread, the content retrieved from the first web-site and the content retrieved from the second web-site on a second portion of the graphical window, and
- at least one computing device configured to execute one or more of the email application and the browser module;
- wherein the browser module is configured to display the content retrieved from the first web-site and the content retrieved from the second web-site in positions on the second portion of the graphical window that are at least partially defined by an order in which the references to the first web-site and the second web-site are bound to the email thread.
11 more elements
A method, comprising:
- displaying an email thread on a graphical window, wherein the email thread includes a first email that is bound to first web-content of a first web-site via a first reference to the first web-site included in the first email, and a second email that is bound to second web-content of a second web-site via a second reference to the second web-site included in the second email;
- automatically retrieving the first web-content from the first web-site using the first reference;
- automatically retrieving the second web-content from the second web-site using the second reference;
- and
- enabling a recipient of the email thread to have the first web-content and the second web-content concurrently displayed with the email thread on the graphical window,
- wherein the first web-content of the first web-site and the second web-content of the second web-site are displayed concurrently in positions on the graphical window that are at least partially defined by an order in which the first reference and the second reference are included in the email thread.
3 more elements
A computer-readable storage device having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform acts, comprising:
- detecting a first link to a first web-site included in a first email message of an email thread;
- detecting a second link to a second web-site included in a second email message of the email thread;
- and,
- causing content from the first web-site and content from the second web-site to be:
- automatically retrieved using the first link and the second link;
- and
- concurrently visualized on a common display area while displaying the email thread to a recipient of the email thread,
- wherein the content from the first web-site and the content from the second web-site are displayed in positions of the common display area that are at least partially defined by an order in which the first link and the second link are included in the email thread.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.