Reducing errors in sending file attachments
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsNadeem Malik, Katherine J. Pearsall, Steven L. Roberts, Mithkal M. Smadi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided is a technology to scan a document for file attachments, generate alternative file names corresponding to a particular attachment, determine whether or not the particular file attachment is the latest version of a file or has a name and/for file path that could he confused with the name and/or path of another file. In the event one or more of the above conditions is met, techniques are also provided to verify that the file attachment is the desired file and, if necessary, to select an alternative file for attachment.
Claims17
A method, comprising;
- detecting, by a hardware processor, a first file to be transmitted in conjunction with an electronic mail (email) message;
- generating, by the processor, a regular expression, including one or more metacharacters, corresponding to a name associated with the first file;
- generating, by the processor, a list of alternative file names based upon the regular expression, wherein each listed file corresponds to a different alternative file of a plurality of possible alternative files;
- enabling the selection of one of an alternative file selected from the list, wherein the alternative file is different than the first file;
- in response to a selecting of the alternative file, replacing, by the processor, the first file with an alternative file;
- and
- transmitting, to a receiving party, the electronic mail message with the alternative file rather that the first file.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a processor;
- a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium;
- and
- logic, stored on the computer-readable storage medium and executed on the processor, for:
- detecting a first file to be transmitted in conjunction with an electronic mail (email) message;
- generating a regular expression, including one or more metacharacters, corresponding to a name associated with the first file;
- generating a list of alternative file names based upon the regular expression, wherein each listed file name corresponds to a different alternative file of a plurality of possible alternative files;
- enabling the selection of one of an alternative file selected from the list, wherein the alternative file is different than the first file;
- in response to a selecting of the alternative file, replacing the first file with an alternative file;
- and
- transmitting, to a receiving party, the electronic mail message with the alternative file rather than the first file.
An computer programming product, comprising:
- a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium;
- and
- logic, stored on the computer-readable storage medium for execution on a processor, for:
- detecting a first file to be transmitted in conjunction with an electronic mail (email) message;
- generating a regular expression, including one or more metacharacters, corresponding to a name associated with the first file;
- generating a list of alternative file names based upon the regular expression, wherein each listed file name corresponds to a different alternative file of a plurality of possible alternative files;
- enabling the selection of one of an alternative file selected from the list, wherein the alternative file is different than the first file;
- in response to a selecting of the alternative file, replacing the first file with an alternative file;
- and
- transmitting, to a receiving party, the electronic mail message with the alternative file rather than the first file.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.