Switching of emails in a conversation thread

A system implemented on a client computer for indexing email messages, the system comprising:

• a processing unit;
• a system memory encoding instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to create:
• an indexing module that receives one or more email messages from a server computer and stores an index in the system memory for each of the one or more email messages, each index providing a pointer to an associated email message of the one or more email messages;
• a thread-parsing module that parses the one or more email messages and determines whether one or more of the email messages part of a conversation thread;
• a rendering module, that renders a plurality of the one or more email messages on a display on the client computer;
• and
• a thread-processing module that determines when an email message in the conversation thread is selected and that toggles, in response to a single action on a conversation icon on the email message, a display of the email message between a view showing text from the email message and a view showing a list of email messages in the conversation thread, wherein the thread-processing module further determines when an email message in the view showing the list of email messages in the conversation thread is selected and that toggles, in response to a single action on the email message, a display of the email message between the view showing the list of email messages in the conversation thread and the view showing the text from the email message.

A tangible computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:

• receive a plurality of email messages from a server computer, the plurality of email messages including a first email message, a second email message and a third email message;
• index each received email message;
• render the first email message in a preview pane of an email application on the client computer, the rendered first email message including a first conversation icon that identifies the first email message as being part of an email conversation thread;
• allow the selection of the conversation icon on the first email message by receiving a single action on the first conversation icon;
• when the first conversation icon is selected on the first email message, rendering a view showing one or more email messages in the conversation thread, the one or more email messages in the conversation thread including the first email message, the second email message and the third email message, the view showing the one or more email messages in the conversation thread being rendered in the preview pane of the email application;
• switch, from the rendered view showing the one or more email messages in the conversation thread, to a view in which only the first email message is rendered on the client computer by receiving the single action on the first email message;
• allow the selection of the second email message from the view showing the one or more email messages in the conversation thread;
• when the second email message is selected, render the second email message on the client computer, the second email message being rendered with a second conversation icon;
• allow the selection of the second conversation icon on the second email message;
• when the second conversation icon is selected on the second email message, rendering the view showing the one or more email messages in the conversation thread, the view showing the one or more email messages in the conversation thread being rendered in the preview pane of the email application;
• allow the selection of the third email message from the view showing the one or more email messages in the conversation thread;
• and
• render the third email message on the client computer, the third email message being rendered with a third conversation icon,
• wherein the first conversation icon, the second conversation icon and the third conversation icon are the same type of conversation icon.