Search

US-20260129015-A1 - VISUAL INDICATORS REPRESENTING FOLDER MEMBERSHIP OF EMAIL MESSAGES

US20260129015A1US 20260129015 A1US20260129015 A1US 20260129015A1US-20260129015-A1

Abstract

The disclosed system obtains multiple groups of messages, where a first group of messages among the multiple groups of messages includes a first multiplicity of messages and where a second group of messages among the multiple groups of messages includes a second multiplicity of messages, different from the first multiplicity of messages. The system determines a first visual indicator associated with the first group of messages and a second visual indicator associated with the second group of messages, different from the first visual indicator. The first and the second visual indicators indicate membership in the first and second group of messages, respectively. The system applies the first visual indicator to the first group of messages and the second visual indicator to the second group of messages, thereby indicating to a user a grouping of the first multiplicity of messages and the second multiplicity of messages.

Inventors

  • Mark Lambert

Assignees

  • Mark Lambert

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241104

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions recorded thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one data processor of a system, cause the system to: obtain multiple groups of email messages, wherein a first group of email messages among the multiple groups of email messages includes a first multiplicity of email messages, wherein a second group of email messages among the multiple groups of email messages includes a second multiplicity of email messages, and wherein the first multiplicity of email messages and the second multiplicity of email messages differ; determine a first visual indicator associated with the first group of email messages and a second visual indicator associated with the second group of email messages, wherein the first visual indicator and the second visual indicator differ, and wherein the first visual indicator indicates membership in the first group of email messages and the second visual indicator indicates membership in the second group of email messages; apply the first visual indicator to the first group of email messages and the second visual indicator to the second group of email messages, thereby indicating to a user a grouping of the first multiplicity of email messages and the second multiplicity of email messages; determine whether to move a first email message in the first group of email messages to the second group of email messages; upon determining to move the first email message, move the first email message in the first group of email messages associated with the first visual indicator to the second group of email messages; and present the first email message using the second visual indicator.
  2. 2 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein instructions to determine the first visual indicator and the second visual indicator comprise instructions to: obtain a hierarchy of email messages, wherein the hierarchy of email messages indicates a folder; determine a first location of the first group of email messages in the hierarchy of email messages, and a second location of the second group of email messages in the hierarchy of email messages, wherein the first location includes a first parent folder and a first child folder indicating the first group of email messages, and the second location includes a second parent folder and a second child folder indicating the second group of email messages; create a third visual indicator associated with the first child folder and a fourth visual indicator associated with the first parent folder; create a fifth visual indicator associated with the second child folder and a sixth visual indicator associated with the second parent folder; create the first visual indicator including the third visual indicator and the fourth visual indicator, thereby indicating the first location of the first group of email messages in the hierarchy of email messages; and create the second visual indicator including the fifth visual indicator and the sixth visual indicator, thereby indicating the second location of the second group of email messages in the hierarchy of email messages.
  3. 3 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , comprising instructions to: provide, to an artificial intelligence, multiple email messages and a request to analyze content associated with the multiple email messages to determine a grouping of the multiple email messages; obtain an indication of the first group of email messages and the second group of email messages; request a permission from a user to group the multiple email messages into the first and second group of email messages; and upon receiving the permission from the user, create the first and second group of email messages.
  4. 4 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , comprising instructions to: obtain an indication to move the first group of email messages to a second location in a hierarchy of email messages, wherein the hierarchy of email messages indicates a folder; determine a hierarchical visual indicator indicating the second location in the hierarchy of email messages; obtain the first visual indicator indicating the first group of email messages; move the first group of email messages to the second location in the hierarchy of email messages; create a third visual indicator including the hierarchical visual indicator and the first visual indicator; and present the third visual indicator along with the first group of email messages.
  5. 5 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , comprising instructions to: provide, to an artificial intelligence, the first group of email messages and a request to analyze content associated with the first group of email messages to determine the first visual indicator; obtain an indication of the first visual indicator; request a permission from a user to present the first group of email messages along with the first visual indicator; and upon receiving the permission from the user, present the first group of email messages along with the first visual indicator.
  6. 6 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions to determine whether to move the first email message in the first group of email messages to the second group of email messages comprise instructions to: determine a time associated with receiving the first email message; determine a time elapsed since the time associated with receiving the first email message; determine whether the time elapsed since the time associated with receiving the first email message is above a predetermined threshold; and upon determining that the time elapsed is above the predetermined threshold, automatically determine to move the first email message to the second group of email messages.
  7. 7 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , comprising instructions to: determine a second email message that is included in the first group of email messages and in the second group of email messages; present the second email message in the first group of email messages including the first visual indicator; and present the second email message in the second group of email messages including the second visual indicator.
  8. 8 . A method comprising: obtaining multiple groups of messages, wherein a first group of messages among the multiple groups of messages includes a first multiplicity of messages, wherein a second group of messages among the multiple groups of messages includes a second multiplicity of messages, and wherein the first multiplicity of messages and the second multiplicity of messages differ; determining a first visual indicator associated with the first group of messages and a second visual indicator associated with the second group of messages, wherein the first visual indicator and the second visual indicator differ, and wherein the first visual indicator indicates membership in the first group of messages and the second visual indicator indicates membership in the second group of messages; and applying the first visual indicator to the first group of messages and the second visual indicator to the second group of messages, thereby indicating to a user a grouping of the first multiplicity of messages and the second multiplicity of messages.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein determining the first visual indicator and the second visual indicator comprises: obtaining a hierarchy of messages, wherein the hierarchy of messages indicates a folder; determining a first location of the first group of messages in the hierarchy of messages and a second location of the second group of messages in the hierarchy of messages, wherein the first location includes a first parent folder and a first child folder indicating the first group of messages, and the second location includes a second parent folder and a second child folder indicating the second group of messages; creating a third visual indicator associated with the first child folder and a fourth visual indicator associated with the first parent folder; creating a fifth visual indicator associated with the second child folder and sixth visual indicator associated with the second parent folder; creating the first visual indicator including the third visual indicator and the fourth visual indicator, thereby indicating the first location of the first group of messages in the hierarchy of messages; and creating the second visual indicator including the fifth visual indicator and the sixth visual indicator, thereby indicating the second location of the second group of messages in the hierarchy of messages.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 8 , comprising: providing, to an artificial intelligence, multiple email messages and a request to analyze content associated with the multiple email messages to determine a grouping of the multiple email messages; obtaining an indication of the first group of email messages and the second group of email messages; requesting a permission from a user to group the multiple email messages into the first and second group of email messages; and upon receiving the permission from the user, creating the first and second group of email messages.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 8 , comprising: obtaining an indication to move the first group of messages to a second location in a hierarchy of messages, wherein the hierarchy of messages indicates a folder; determining a hierarchical visual indicator indicating the second location in the hierarchy of messages; obtaining the first visual indicator indicating the first group of messages; moving the first group of messages to the second location in the hierarchy of messages; creating a third visual indicator including the hierarchical visual indicator and the first visual indicator; and presenting the third visual indicator along with the first group of messages.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 8 , comprising: providing, to an artificial intelligence, the first group of messages and a request to analyze content associated with the first group of messages to determine the first visual indicator; obtaining an indication of the first visual indicator; requesting a permission from a user to present the first group of messages along with the first visual indicator; and upon receiving the permission from the user, presenting the first group of messages along with the first visual indicator.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein determining whether to move a first message in the first group of messages to the second group of messages comprises: determining a time associated with receiving the first message; determining a time elapsed since the time associated with receiving the first message; determining whether the time elapsed since the time associated with receiving the first message is above a predetermined threshold; and upon determining that the time elapsed is above the predetermined threshold, automatically determining to move the first message to the second group of messages.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 8 , comprising: determining a second message that is included in the first group of messages and in the second group of messages; presenting the second message in the first group of messages including the first visual indicator; and presenting the second message in the second group of messages including the second visual indicator.
  15. 15 . A system comprising: at least one hardware processor; and at least one non-transitory memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one hardware processor, cause the system to: obtain multiple groups of messages, wherein a first group of messages among the multiple groups of messages includes a first multiplicity of messages, wherein a second group of messages among the multiple groups of messages includes a second multiplicity of messages, and wherein the first multiplicity of messages and the second multiplicity of messages differ; determine a first visual indicator associated with the first group of messages and a second visual indicator associated with the second group of messages, wherein the first visual indicator and the second visual indicator differ, and wherein the first visual indicator indicates membership in the first group of messages and the second visual indicator indicates membership in the second group of messages; and apply the first visual indicator to the first group of messages and the second visual indicator to the second group of messages, thereby indicating to a user a grouping of the first multiplicity of messages and the second multiplicity of messages.
  16. 16 . The system of claim 15 , comprising instructions to: receive an indication to move a first message in the first group of messages to the second group of messages; upon receiving the indication, move the first message in the first group of messages associated with the first visual indicator to the second group of messages; and present the first message using the second visual indicator.
  17. 17 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions to determine the first visual indicator and the second visual indicator include instructions to: obtain a hierarchy of messages, wherein the hierarchy of messages indicates a folder; determine a first location of the first group of messages in the hierarchy of messages, and a second location of the second group of messages in the hierarchy of messages, wherein the first location includes a first parent folder and a first child folder indicating the first group of messages, and the second location includes a second parent folder and a second child folder indicating the second group of messages; create a third visual indicator associated with the first child folder and a fourth visual indicator associated with the first parent folder; create a fifth visual indicator associated with the second child folder and a sixth visual indicator associated with the second parent folder; create the first visual indicator including the third visual indicator and the fourth visual indicator, thereby indicating the first location of the first group of messages in the hierarchy of messages; and create the second visual indicator including the fifth visual indicator and the sixth visual indicator, thereby indicating the second location of the second group of messages in the hierarchy of messages.
  18. 18 . The system of claim 15 , comprising instructions to: provide, to an artificial intelligence, multiple email messages and a request to analyze content associated with the multiple email messages to determine a grouping of the multiple email messages; obtain an indication of the first group of email messages and the second group of email messages; request a permission from a user to group the multiple email messages into the first and second group of email messages; and upon receiving the permission from the user, create the first and second group of email messages.
  19. 19 . The system of claim 15 , comprising instructions to: obtain an indication to move the first group of messages to a second location in a hierarchy of messages, wherein the hierarchy of messages indicates a folder; determine a hierarchical visual indicator indicating the second location in the hierarchy of messages; obtain the first visual indicator indicating the first group of messages; move the first group of messages to the second location in the hierarchy of messages; create a third visual indicator including the hierarchical visual indicator and the first visual indicator; and present the third visual indicator along with the first group of messages.
  20. 20 . The system of claim 15 , comprising instructions to: provide, to an artificial intelligence, the first group of messages and a request to analyze content associated with the first group of messages to determine the first visual indicator; obtain an indication of the first visual indicator; request a permission from a user to present the first group of messages along with the first visual indicator; and upon receiving the permission from the user, present the first group of messages along with the first visual indicator.

Description

BACKGROUND Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving messages using electronic devices. Email is a ubiquitous and very widely used communication medium. Email operates across computer networks, primarily the Internet, and also local area networks. Today's email systems are based on a store-and-forward model. Email servers accept, forward, deliver, and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online simultaneously; they need to connect, typically, to a mail server or a webmail interface to send or receive messages or download them. Originally an ASCII text-only communications medium, Internet email was extended by Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) to carry text in other character sets and multimedia content attachments. Usually, the mail is organized in folders in the mail server, and the folders are presented to the user. When the folders become numerous, it may be difficult for the user interacting with a single email to understand to what folder the email belongs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Detailed descriptions of implementations of the present invention will be described and explained through the use of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an email inbox including visual indicators representing folder membership. FIG. 2 shows visual indicators representing a location of a folder in a hierarchy of messages. FIG. 3 shows how changing the location of a folder in the hierarchy changes the folder's visual indicator. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method to create visual indicators representing folder membership of email messages, according to one embodiment. FIG. 5 shows multiple hierarchies of folders. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method to create visual indicators representing folder membership of email messages, according to another embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example transformer. FIG. 8 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a computer system 800 in which at least some operations described herein can be implemented. FIG. 9 illustrates a user engaged with a mixed reality system for immersive message management. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a cloud stack and a client stack architecture for a platform that can collectively administer a mixed reality session on a head-mounted display (HMD) device. The technologies described herein will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from studying the Detailed Description in conjunction with the drawings. Embodiments or implementations describing aspects of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and the same references can indicate similar elements. While the drawings depict various implementations for the purpose of illustration, those skilled in the art will recognize that alternative implementations can be employed without departing from the principles of the present technologies. Accordingly, while specific implementations are shown in the drawings, the technology is amenable to various modifications. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The disclosed technology is directed to an enhanced email system that improves user navigation and organization within email clients. The disclosed system can associate various visual indicators, individually or in combination, such as font size, font style, text color, or symbols (e.g., images, icons, stars, pound signs), with folders containing email, thus helping the user distinguish folders from each other. This differentiation helps users quickly identify a specific folder amidst numerous other folders, reducing the likelihood of confusion and misfiling. Additionally, when the folder containing the visual indicator is expanded to display its contents, the emails within the folder are also marked with similar visual indicators, ensuring that users are constantly aware that they are viewing related emails. One such labeled folder can be the archive folder. Creating a visual indication for the archive folder is particularly useful when emails are automatically archived after a certain period. The visual indication helps users avoid mistakenly interacting with archived emails as if they were current or current emails that could mistakenly be filed in an open archive folder. As mentioned above, the disclosed technology is applicable to any folder or subfolder containing email messages, not just the archive folder. Any folder created by the user, such as project-specific folders, can be visually distinguished using the same set of indicators. For example, a folder named “Project X” could be displayed in a red font, making it easily identifiable for filing or retrieving emails. The disclosed system enhances overall email management by providing a clear and intuitive way to navigate through various folders and their contents, thereby improving efficiency and reducing the risk of errors in email handling. Visual Indicators Representing Folder Membership of Email Messages FIG. 1 shows an email inbox including visua