International Business Machines Corporation

Christopher Kemp Hunt

Thomas R Haynes

Jerry Thomas Paradise

A method and system for automatic electronic mail address maintenance in a data processing system coupled to an electronic mail distribution system. An electronic mail processing application is utilized to process electronic mail transferred to or received from the electronic mail distribution system. Each time an electronic mail item is processed within the electronic mail processing application, electronic mail addresses are automatically retrieved and stored within the data processing system. Group or alias address are resolved by automatically accessing the electronic mail distribution system to obtain the appropriate electronic mail address. The retrieved electronic mail addresses may then be displayed by a user together with or separate from an existing address list. These automatically retrieved electronic mail addresses may then be viewed alphabetically, in data sequence or by frequency of transmission or receipt to or from designated electronic mail addresses.

Method and system for automatic electronic mail address maintenance

A graphical user interface for a computer system has a toolbar with associated items and a menu bar having at least one pulldown menu with associated items, and provides a visual correspondence between items on the pulldown menu and items on the toolbar. The visual correspondence can be provided when a graphical pointer is placed over an item on the pulldown menu, and when a graphical pointer is placed over an item on the toolbar. The visual correspondence may be provided by highlighting the item on the toolbar, by providing a ghost image of the item on the toolbar, or by providing a ghost image of the pulldown menu. The invention retains current user interaction with toolbars and menu bars, and the novel dynamic linking of menu bar and toolbar items extends the functionality of the GUI without increasing visual complexity.

Growing community of inventors

Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Christopher Kemp Hunt