Method for managing electronic mail receipts using audio-visual notification enhancements
View Patent ↗The present invention provides a monitoring subsystem that would capture all incoming MDN messages (return receipts), and rather than posting individual MDN notes in the user's in-box, a tracking and update subsystem would correlate the incoming responses by reading the appropriate fields in the captured MDN message, and would then use this data to update/create the new functionality.
1. A method for managing electronic mail return receipts using audio-visual notification comprising the steps of:
initiating an electronic mail return receipt operation;
determining features of a return receipt notification display, by prompting a message initiator to select a return receipt notification display procedure and capturing a highlighted recipient of the message at the message initiator location when a recipient has received and opened the message;
detecting a message at the receiver destination;
transmitting a return receipt back to the message initiator;
capturing the return receipt at the message initiator location;
identifying the specific receiver destination transmitting the return receipt; and
displaying the specific receiver destination to the message initiator.
2. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the return receipt notification display procedure comprises creating a list of recipients of the original message at the message initiator location and indicating when a recipient from the recipient list has received and opened the message.
3. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said return receipt capturing step further comprises:
intercepting an incoming message at the message initiator location;
determining whether the detected message is message disposition notification;
when the determination is the detected message is a message disposition notification, identifying the original message at the message initiator location; and
matching the sender of the message disposition notification to a corresponding recipient on the original message transmitted by the message initiator.
4. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for managing electronic mail return receipts using audio-visual notification comprising:
instructions for initiating an electronic mail return receipt operation;
instructions for determining features of a return receipt notification display including instructions for prompting a message initiator to select a return receipt notification display procedure and instructions for capturing a highlighted recipient of the message at the message initiator location when a recipient has received and opened the message;
instructions for detecting a message at the receiver destination;
instructions for transmitting a return receipt back to the message initiator;
instructions for capturing the return receipt at the message initiator location;
instructions for identifying the specific receiver destination transmitting the return receipt; and
instructions for displaying the specific receiver destination to the message initiator.
5. The computer program product as described in claim 4 wherein the return receipt notification display procedure comprises instructions for creating a list of recipients of the original message at the message initiator location and instructions for indicating when a recipient from the recipient list has received and opened the message.
6. The computer program product as described in claim 4 wherein said return receipt capturing instructions further comprise:
instructions for intercepting an incoming message at the message initiator location;
instructions for determining whether the detected message is message disposition notification;
when the determination is the detected message is a message disposition notification, instructions for identifying the original message at the message initiator location; and
instructions for matching the sender of the message disposition notification to a corresponding recipient on the original message transmitted by the message initiator.
7. The computer program product as described in claim 6 further comprising before said matching instruction, instructions for determining whether the original transmitted message had multiple recipients.
8. The computer program product as described in claim 4 further comprising before said return receipt transmitting instructions, instructions for creating a queue at a receiver destination and instructions for queuing a return receipt notification in response to the detection of the opening of a message at the receiver destination.
9. The computer program product as described in claim 4 wherein said display type determination instructions further comprise instructions for prompting the message initiator to select a return receipt notification display procedure.