International Business Machines Corporation

Doris L Jones

Ruthie D Lyle

Corinne M Ryan

Razeyah Stephen

Chenita D Daughtry

Latoya Sankey

Angelo Lynn

Ebubechukwu I Okafor

Daniel B Kehn

Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to e-mail processing and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for a unified presentation of scattered e-mail data. In one embodiment of the invention, a unified presentation of scattered e-mail data method can include selecting an e-mail in an e-mail list of an e-mail client, locating scattered data for the selected e-mail, and presenting the scattered data in a pop-up window proximate to the selected e-mail. In one aspect of the embodiment, selecting an e-mail in an e-mail list of an e-mail client can include selecting an icon adjacent to an e-mail in an e-mail list of an e-mail client. In another aspect of the embodiment, selecting an e-mail in an e-mail list of an e-mail client can include mousing over an icon adjacent to an e-mail in an e-mail list of an e-mail client.

Unified presentation of scattered message data

A system for auto-sorting of lists based on most frequent component access or partner collaboration. The elements in the lists may represent collaboration partners (e.g. instant messaging contacts), and/or collaboration components such as Web addresses, events, collaborative documents, activity objects, and/or desktop applications. The system monitors component accesses and/or partner collaborations over a configurable time period to determine the frequency of collaborations with specific collaboration partners, and/or the frequency of accesses to collaboration components. The disclosed system then determines a set of collaboration partners and/or components that are most frequently collaborated with and/or accessed, and moves the list elements representing those collaboration partners and/or components into a top-located sub-list within a list of elements representing a larger number of collaboration partners and/or components in a user interface provided to a local user.

Providing auto-sorting of collaborative partners or components based on frequency of communication and/or access in a collaboration system user interface

A system for providing open session based selective broadcasting in an instant messaging system. The instant messaging system user is provided with a mechanism through which they can broadcast a user-defined message to the participants in all currently open instant messaging sessions with the user, or to the participants in a selected subset of currently open instant messaging sessions with the user. The system provides the ability to capture and save a list of the participants receiving a previously broadcast message. The captured participant list can be subsequently recalled and used to broadcast another user defined message when the interruption ends, and the user can resume participation in the sessions.

Providing open session based selective broadcasting in an instant messaging system

A system for selective sharing of flagged information in a group chat (i.e. instant messaging) that generates a user interface object enabling a flag setting participant to indicate which of the other chat participants can see a visible flag they are setting in association with selected content of the chat session. The flag is then visible only to those indicated other participants, both during the chat session and within copies of the saved chat transcript. A user interface object (e.g. a context window) provides chat participants with the ability to conveniently identify information about individual flags in the chat session, such as the identity of the participant that set a flag, when the flag was created, the priority associated with the flag, and/or other information. The system further enables chat participants to filter the contents of a chat transcript, so that only a subset of the chat transcript is displayed, based on flags contained in the transcript. Chat participants can also associate priorities with specific individual flags and/or all flags set by a given participant, and/or generate a 'to do' list based on the flags in the transcript.

Method and system for selective sharing of flagged information in a group chat environment

A system for auto-sorting of lists based on most frequent component access or partner collaboration. The elements in the lists may represent collaboration partners (e.g. instant messaging contacts), and/or collaboration components such as Web addresses, events, collaborative documents, activity objects, and/or desktop applications. The system monitors component accesses and/or partner collaborations over a configurable time period to determine the frequency of collaborations with specific collaboration partners, and/or the frequency of accesses to collaboration components. The disclosed system then determines a set of collaboration partners and/or components that are most frequently collaborated with and/or accessed, and moves the list elements representing those collaboration partners and/or components into a top-located sub-list within a list of elements representing a larger number of collaboration partners and/or components in a user interface provided to a local user. The size of the top-located sub-list is user configurable, and the user may further indicate that certain collaboration partners and/or components are to be added to the sub-list, removed from the sub-list, always excluded from the sub-list, or always included in the sub-list. The local user may also be provided with a configurable set of alert notifications through the user interface communicating when collaboration partners and/or components have been added to and/or removed from the sub-list.

A system for clearing content displayed in the live session display area of an instant messaging system. The system enables a session participant to clear the content currently visible to each other participant in the session, either immediately, or in response to a criteria such as elapsed time or elapsed time since active in the session. The content that is cleared from the live session display area is not permanently lost, but is only temporarily hidden from the live session display area. The system further enables a local participant to recall such temporarily hidden content back into the live session display area.

Controlling the display of sensitive information and managing visual clutter in a live session display area system

Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to instant messaging and provide a method, system and computer program product for instant messenger subset management. In an embodiment of the invention, an instant messenger subset management method can be provided. The method can include selecting a set of names for different open chat sessions of an instant messenger, providing a single responsive posting to the selected set, and persisting the set for subsequent processing. Additionally, the method can include annotating the single responsive posting in a chat log to indicate the names in the selected set having received the single responsive posting.

Instant messenger subset management

A system for verifying the identity of a chat partner during an instant messaging session. The identity of an instant messaging partner can be verified at any given moment during an instant messaging session. The status of the verification is displayed in the current session, and is contained into any subsequently saved session history file. Prior to the beginning of communication, a participant has the ability to challenge one or more other participants to verify that they are really the people assigned to the corresponding instant messaging identifiers. During the instant messaging session, participants are further allowed to challenge any other participant before going further with the session (e.g. prior to discussing confidential information or accepting files). The system addresses the problem of an unauthorized user gaining access to another user's instant messaging identifier.

System and method for verifying the identity of a chat partner during an instant messaging session

Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to task management in an instant messenger and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for task assignment and progress monitoring in an instant messaging session. In one embodiment of the invention, a method of task assignment and progress monitoring in an instant messaging session can be provided. The method can include maintaining an instant messaging session between first and second collaborators, assigning a task to the second collaborator on request of the first collaborator from within the instant messaging session, the task specifying a third collaborator external to the instant messaging session, and providing subsequent notice to the first collaborator of collaborative interactions between the second and third collaborators in respect to the assigned task.

Task assignment and progress monitoring in an instant messaging session

A mechanism for controlling the saving of an instant messaging session transcript to a log file. The system includes a session locking feature that allows a participant (e.g. the session initiator) to lock the entire contents of a session transcript saved into a log file. The system further includes a message locking features that allows a participant to selectively lock a specified portion the contents of the session transcript saved to a log file. The locking participant is able to indicate which other participants can unlock the content in the session transcript stored in the log file that they have locked, and those specified other participants are accordingly sent the necessary key to unlock such locked content. The system further allows users to subsequently request locks to unlock content in a session transcript stored in a log file, and for the locking participant to selectively allow or disallow such requests.

Method and system for controlling the logging of session transcripts to log files in an instant messaging system

A pop-up window is generated when the user clicks on the slider within the scroll bar display object. The pop-up window displays information from one or more categories in a currently selected list entry, including the category on which the list is currently sorted. As the user moves the slider, the information in the pop-window is updated to reflect the current location in the list, as determined by the current location of slider within the scroll bar. When the user stops scrolling, i.e. releases the scroll slider, the matching entry for the current location becomes highlighted, and the system enters a search mode. In the search mode, the disclosed system continues to display the pop-up window for a few seconds to allow the user the option of editing the text in the pop-up (as derived from the current position in the list) in order to go to another entry in the sorted list. Accordingly, the sorted category information loaded from the current list entry becomes editable within the pop-up window with a type ahead feature allowing the user to see and select from and search based on information from list entries in the sorted data that closely match the text that the user has typed into the pop-up window. When the user presses 'Enter', the current view and scroll bar position are relocated to reflect the position of the entry matching the selected search information.

Growing community of inventors

Somerville, MA, United States of America

Doris L Jones