JP2004295740A - Method and system for transferring mail, and mail server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To drastically reduce communications traffic and time required for transfer without impairing the operability of mail transfer. <P>SOLUTION: A mail client acquires received mail list information that does not include mail text from a mail box of a mail server and displays the received mail list information. It also displays a destination ledger screen. The mail client selects a mail that the client wants to transfer among received mails displayed in the list and overlaps the selected mail on a destination in the destination ledger screen to thereby make an instruction to transfer the selected mail to the overlapped destination. The mail client transmits the instruction as a transfer request to the mail server. The mail server performs processing that transfers a transfer mail including the mail text and an attached file to a designated destination. This makes the mail server side perform transfer processing without receiving the transfer mail at the mail client. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mail transfer method and system in an electronic mail system realized by a client-server system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of transferring a received e-mail, a method of transferring an e-mail to a specific destination under certain conditions, as described in Patent Document 1, is known. However, this method automatically transfers a received mail according to a predetermined transfer condition, and cannot be used when the received mail is to be transferred to various destinations each time. Therefore, in such a case, all information such as the body of the received mail and the attached file is received by the mail client, the destination to be transferred is set again, and the mail server is sent to the mail server by the method described in Patent Document 2. Had a way to send.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2002-185492 [Patent Document 2] JP-A-2000-40042
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the technique described in Patent Literature 2 involves receiving a mail to be transferred once from a server to a client, and transmitting the same data to the server again when transfer is instructed. Therefore, a large mail with an attached file or the like is attached. When performing the transfer, there is a problem that the amount of data transmission / reception is large and it takes time.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to significantly reduce the communication amount and time required for transfer without impairing the operability of mail transfer.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a transfer request for a mail selected from a list of received mails is made to a mail server without receiving a mail body or an attached file to a mail client. At this time, the ID of the mail selected in the list, the destination specified as the transfer destination, and if necessary, the comment text input are sent to the mail server, and the mail server performs transfer processing based on these information. It is characterized by the following.
[0007]
That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a client-server type e-mail transfer method, wherein a server transmits received mail list information not including a text of a mail from a mailbox to a client, A step of displaying received mail list information received by the client; a step of selecting a mail to be transferred from the received mail list at the client and specifying a transfer destination; and a step of: Transmitting a transfer request including information specifying a mail to be transferred and information indicating a transfer destination; and when the transfer request is received from the client, the transfer destination included in the transfer request is set as a destination in the server. Set and include the body of the email specified by the information identifying the email And creating a new e-mail in volume, at the server, characterized by comprising a step of registering the new mail as outgoing mail.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the mail transfer method according to the first aspect, the step of selecting a mail to be transferred by the client and designating a transfer destination is performed when the mail selected from the received mail list information display screen When it is detected that the destination is overlapped with an arbitrary destination in the destination list display screen, the destination is recognized as the transfer destination.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 3 is the mail transfer method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the destination of the transfer destination is a group including a plurality of addresses.
[0010]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the mail transfer method according to any one of the first to third aspects, the step of creating a new mail in the server includes, when the mail to be transferred includes an attached file, Is attached to the new mail.
[0011]
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the mail transfer method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, when a mail to be transferred is selected and a transfer destination is designated by the client, a comment to be included in the transferred mail is specified. Displaying a screen to be input, and transmitting the comment included in the screen in the transfer request to the server, further comprising: A new mail including the comment is created.
[0012]
The invention according to claim 6 is a client-server type e-mail transfer system, wherein the client obtains and displays received mail list information that does not include the text of the mail from a mailbox of the server; A means for selecting a mail to be transferred from the mail list, specifying a transfer destination thereof, and a means for transmitting a transfer request including information specifying the selected mail to be transferred and information indicating the transfer destination to the server, A server configured to transmit received mail list information that does not include the body of the mail from a mailbox to the client, and, when receiving a transfer request from the client, set a transfer destination included in the transfer request as a destination Means for creating a new mail with contents including the body of the mail specified by the information specifying the mail. , Characterized by comprising a means for registering the new mail as outgoing mail.
[0013]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the mail transfer system according to the sixth aspect, the means for selecting the mail to be transferred by the client and designating a transfer destination includes the mail selected from the received mail list information display screen. When it is detected that the destination is overlapped with an arbitrary destination in the destination list display screen, the destination is recognized as the transfer destination.
[0014]
The invention according to claim 8 is configured such that, when a transfer request that does not include the body of the mail but includes information specifying the mail to be transferred and information indicating the transfer destination is received from the client, the transfer destination included in the transfer request is determined. In addition to setting as a destination, a new mail is created with contents including the text of the mail specified by the information specifying the mail, and the new mail is registered as a transmission mail.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a client-server type mail system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mail client 101 of the present system includes a mail control unit 102 for displaying a list of mails and a text, and a destination ledger control unit 103 for displaying a mail transmission destination. The mail server 104 includes a destination control unit 105 that passes data to be displayed by the destination ledger control unit 103, a mail control unit 107 that receives data to be displayed by the mail control unit 102 and a mail transmitted from the mail control unit 102, A transfer control unit 111 for performing transfer.
[0017]
The destination control unit 105 of the mail server 104 manages destination information 106 storing addresses of users managed by the mail server 104.
[0018]
FIG. 3 shows a configuration of information for managing a group in the destination information 106. A group ID for uniquely identifying each group in the system and a group name 302 are stored in association with each other. Each group is associated with each other in a hierarchical structure. For example, in FIG. 3, the group with the group ID “A0000001” and the group name “Co.” is the highest rank, and below it, the group ID is “A0000011”, the group name is “General Affairs”, and the group ID is “A0000012”. Indicates that there is a group whose group name is "management" or the like.
[0019]
FIG. 4 shows a configuration of mail address information used as a destination in the destination information 106. The address 402 is managed using the group ID 401 to which it belongs as a key. It should be noted that the groups in the present mail system do not necessarily need to depend on the existing groups such as the corporate organization, and the administrator or user of the present mail system may appropriately set the groups. Further, the same person may belong to a plurality of groups.
[0020]
Returning to FIG. 1, the mail control unit 107 of the mail server 104 manages the mailbox 108 for each login user, and the mailbox 108 includes mail list information 109 that manages mail attribute information. Email body information 110 that manages the body of the email and attached files is provided. The mail list information 109 and the mail text information 110 are managed for each login user.
[0021]
FIG. 5 shows an example of the contents of the mail list information 109 in the mailbox of one login user. The attribute information of the mail transmitted to the login user is managed by the mail ID 501 and stored for each mail.
[0022]
FIG. 6 shows an example of the content of the mail text information 110 in the mailbox of one login user. The text 602 and attached file information 603 of the mail transmitted to the login user are managed by the mail ID 601 and stored for each mail. The attached file information 603 includes the file name of each attached file and its contents.
[0023]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an image of a mail transfer process in the system according to the present embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. In FIG. 2, the same numbers as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same items.
[0024]
Reference numeral 201 denotes a display screen of a certain mail client 101. When the mail client 101 logs in to this system and connects to the mail server 104, the list information 109 (FIG. 5) of the mailbox 108 of the mail client is read and displayed on the received mail list screen 202. At this point, only the list information is transferred from the mail server 104 to the mail client 101, and the body information of each mail is not transferred.
[0025]
It is assumed that the user selects, for example, the case “conference notification” to be transferred on the received mail list screen 202 and superimposes the transfer destination group name “sales 1” on the destination ledger screen 203. The destination ledger screen 203 is displayed by a predetermined operation by the user, and displays destination information 106 obtained by the destination ledger control unit 103 via the destination control unit 105 of the mail server 104. Here, it is assumed that the tree structure indicating the hierarchical structure of the group described in FIG. 3 and the destination name of each address described in FIG.
[0026]
When the user selects the matter “conference notification” to be transferred and superimposes it on the transfer destination group name “sales 1” on the destination ledger screen 203, the mail control unit 102 transmits the “conference notification” mail to “sales notification”. It is recognized that the instruction is an instruction to transfer to a mail address belonging to the group of "1". Then, the mail ID “0000A120” of the selected matter “conference notification” and the group ID “A0000021” of the group name “sales 1” are respectively specified, the comment input screen 204 is output, and the Enter the sentence you want to add. The user inputs a sentence to be added to the forwarded mail to the comment input screen 204 as necessary, and clicks a predetermined button in the input screen 204 to close the mail server 104 when the input screen 204 is closed. Send a transfer request to.
[0027]
FIG. 7 shows the contents of the transfer request sent to the mail server. The transfer request includes the mail ID 701 of the mail selected as the case to be transferred, the destination 702 specified as the transfer destination, and the comment 703 to be added to the body. It does not include email text or attachments. Here, the mail ID 701 is the mail ID “0000A120” of the “conference holding notification” selected on the received mail list screen 202, and the destination 702 is the type “group” indicating the group of the superimposed “sales 1”. And the group ID “A0000021”, and the comment 703 is the content of the input comment. A transfer request is sent to the mail server with such information set. When the destination of the transfer destination is an individual address instead of a group name, the address type is set to “address” and the address is set.
[0028]
Upon receiving the transfer request as shown in FIG. 7, the transfer control unit 111 of the mail server 104, based on the information of the transferred mail received from the mail client 101, extracts the attribute of the transfer source mail from the list information 109 and the body information 110. Get information, text, and attached files, add comments, etc., and create an email to forward. Further, the transfer control unit 111 passes the created mail to the mail control unit 107 as a new mail, and causes the mail control unit 107 to register the created mail as a new mail in the destination mailbox 108.
[0029]
FIG. 8 shows a flow of a transfer process in the destination ledger of the mail client 101. First, it is determined whether the selected state is overlaid on the destination ledger screen 203 (step 801). If not, the process ends. If so, it is determined whether the selected one is a mail in the received mail list screen 202 (step 802). If not, the process ends. If so, it is determined whether the overlapped location is either an address or a group name (step 803). If not, the process ends. If so, that is, if a mail in the received mail list is selected and overlapped with the address or group name (steps 801, 802, 803), a comment input screen is output and a sentence to be added to the text is input. Processing is performed (step 804). Then, a transfer request is made to the mail server 104 by passing the mail ID, destination, and comment of the transfer mail as described in FIG.
[0030]
FIG. 9 shows a flow of processing performed by the transfer control unit 111 of the mail server 104 when a transfer request is sent from the mail client 101 to the mail server 104. First, it is determined whether the type of the destination specified as the transfer destination is an address or a group (step 901). If the destination type is an address, the destination address is set as the destination of the new mail to be transferred (step 903). If the destination type is a group, all addresses belonging to the group are acquired from the group ID and set as the destination of a new mail to be transferred (step 902). Next, with reference to the mail list information 109, attributes other than the subject and destination of the mail ID of the mail ID to be transferred are acquired and set as a new mail to be transferred (step 904). Similarly, referring to the mail text information 108, the mail text and the attached file of the mail ID to be transferred are obtained (step 905). Then, a comment is inserted into the acquired text (step 906). Further, the body with the comment inserted and the attached file are set as a new mail to be transferred (step 907). The registration request is sent to the mail control unit 107 for the new mail to be transferred as a transmission mail.
[0031]
In the above-described embodiment, when an attached file is included in the transfer target mail, the same attached file is also transferred to the forwarded mail, and the transferred file is transferred to the comment input screen 204. A check box or the like indicating whether or not to attach the attached file may be added so that the user can indicate whether or not to transfer the attached file. In this case, when there are a plurality of attached files, such an instruction may be made for each attached file.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, by performing the transfer processing on the mail server side, there is no need to receive the text and the attached file to the mail client, and the amount of received data can be reduced. Further, since there is no need to transmit the text of the mail to be transferred and the attached file from the mail client to the mail server, the amount of transmission data can be reduced. In particular, in the case of a large-sized mail with many attached files, the amount of data transferred between the client and server can be reduced, and the time required for transfer can be greatly reduced. In addition, a mail operation and a destination to be transferred can be easily selected by a client operation using the GUI, so that the transfer operation can be easily performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an image diagram for explaining a transfer process. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of group data of destination information. FIG. 4 is destination data of destination information. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of data of mail list information. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of data of mail text information. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing data transferred from a mail client to a mail server in a transfer process. FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a transfer process of a destination ledger on the mail client side. FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a transfer process of a transfer control unit on the mail server side.
101 mail client, 102 mail control unit, 103 destination register control unit, 104 mail server, 105 destination control unit, 106 destination information, 107 mail control unit, 108 mailbox, 109 mail list information 110, mail body information, 110, transfer control unit, 201, mail client, 202, received mail list display screen, 203, destination ledger display screen, 204, comment input screen.

Claims (8)

A client-server type e-mail transfer method,
A step of transmitting received mail list information that does not include the body of the mail from the mailbox to the client from the server;
Displaying the received received mail list information on the client;
The client selects a mail to be transferred from the received mail list, and designates a transfer destination thereof;
Transmitting from the client to the server a transfer request including information specifying the selected mail to be transferred and information indicating a transfer destination;
When the server receives a transfer request from the client, the server sets a transfer destination included in the transfer request as a destination, and creates a new mail with the content including the text of the mail specified by the information specifying the mail. Steps to create;
Registering the new mail as an outgoing mail in the server. The mail transfer method according to claim 1,
The step of selecting a mail to be transferred by the client and specifying a transfer destination detects that the mail selected from the received mail list information display screen is overlaid on an arbitrary destination in the destination list display screen. A mail transfer method for recognizing the overlapped destination as the transfer destination. The mail transfer method according to claim 1 or 2,
A mail transfer method, wherein the transfer destination is a group including a plurality of addresses. The mail transfer method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The method of creating a new mail in the server, wherein when the mail to be transferred includes an attached file, the attached file is attached to the new mail. The mail transfer method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A step of displaying a screen for inputting a comment to be included in the forwarded mail when the mail to be forwarded is selected and the forwarding destination is specified by the client;
Transmitting the comment included in the screen in the transfer request to the server,
When creating a new mail in the server, if there is the comment, a new mail including the comment is created. An email transfer system of a client-server type,
The client
Means for acquiring and displaying received mail list information that does not include the body of the mail from the server mailbox,
Means for selecting a mail to be transferred from the received mail list and designating a transfer destination thereof;
Means for transmitting a transfer request including the information specifying the selected mail to be transferred and the information indicating the transfer destination to the server,
The server is
Means for transmitting received mail list information that does not include the body of the mail from a mailbox to the client;
Means for, when receiving a transfer request from the client, setting a transfer destination included in the transfer request as a destination and creating a new mail with contents including a text of the mail specified by the information specifying the mail; ,
Means for registering the new mail as an outgoing mail. The mail transfer system according to claim 6,
The means for selecting the mail to be transferred by the client and designating the transfer destination detects that the mail selected from the received mail list information display screen is superimposed on any destination in the destination list display screen. A mail transfer system for recognizing the overlapped destination as the transfer destination. When a transfer request that does not include the body of the mail but includes information specifying the mail to be transferred and information indicating the transfer destination is received from the client, the transfer destination included in the transfer request is set as the destination, and the mail is set. A mail server that creates a new mail with contents including the body of the mail specified by the information specifying the mail, and registers the new mail as a transmission mail.

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