System and method for providing an importance filter for electronic mail messages
A system and method for implementing an importance filter in an electronic mail message system are described. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving an incoming email message; rating the received email message in accordance with at least one criterion; and responsive to the rating, displaying in the email inbox an entry corresponding to the received email message in a manner indicative of a result of the rating.
1 . A method for providing an importance filter for an electronic mail (“email” ) inbox display, the method comprising:
receiving an incoming email message;
rating the received email message in accordance with at least one criterion;
responsive to the rating, displaying in the email inbox an entry corresponding to the received email message in a manner indicative of a result of the rating.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one criterion relates to the importance of the received email message.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one criterion is specified by a user.
4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one criterion is a default criterion.
5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the displaying in the email inbox an entry corresponding to the received email message in a manner indicative of a result of the rating comprises displaying the corresponding entry using at least one visual cue indicative of a relative importance of the message.
6 . The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one visual cue is a visual cue selected from the group consisting of color, font size, font attribute, animation, and highlighting.
7 . The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one visual cue comprises a relative position of the entry in the email inbox.
8 . The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one visual cue is specified by a user.
9 . A system for implementing an importance filter for an electronic mail (“email” ) inbox display, the system comprising:
means for rating a received email message in accordance with at least one criterion relating to an importance of the received email message;
means responsive to the rating for displaying in the email inbox an entry corresponding to the received email message in a manner indicative of a result of the rating.
10 . The system of claim 9 wherein the at least one criterion is specified by a user.
11 . The system of claim 9 wherein the at least one criterion is a default criterion.
12 . The system of claim 9 wherein the means for displaying in the email inbox an entry corresponding to the received email message in a manner indicative of a result of the rating comprises means for displaying the corresponding entry using at least one visual cue indicative of a relative importance of the message.
13 . The system of claim 12 wherein the at least one visual cue is a visual cue selected from the group consisting of color, font size, font attribute, animation, and highlighting.
14 . The system of claim 13 wherein the at least one visual cue further comprises a relative position of the entry in the email inbox.
15 . The system of claim 12 wherein the at least one visual cue is specified by a user.
16 . A computer program product comprising computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for:
rating a received email message in accordance with at least one criterion relating to an importance of the received email message; and
responsive to the rating, displaying in the email inbox an entry corresponding to the received email message in a manner indicative of a result of the rating.
17 . The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the at least one criterion is specified by a user.
18 . The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the at least one criterion is a default criterion.
19 . The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the instructions for displaying in the email inbox an entry corresponding to the received email message in a manner indicative of a result of the rating comprise instructions for displaying the corresponding entry using at least one visual cue indicative of a relative importance of the message, wherein the at least one visual cue is a visual cue selected from the group consisting of color, font size, font attribute, animation, and highlighting.
20 . The system of claim 19 wherein the at least one visual cue further comprises a relative position of the entry in the email inbox.