Abstract:
A program product, which cooperates with an e-mail program having a function of forming an e-mail with an application program data attached, causes a computer to execute the steps of: storing an edition data processed by an application program in a storage unit of the computer; passing information for forming an edition-data-attached e-mail, that is, an e-mail having the stored edition data attached thereto, to the e-mail program; and deleting the edition data stored in the storage unit in response to a notice from the e-mail program indicating that the edition-data-attached e-mail has been formed.

Description:
[0001]     This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-273788 filed with Japan Patent Office on Sep. 21, 2004, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a program product and, more specifically, to a program product that enables effective use of a storage area of a computer.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     As a method of transferring and receiving a file through a network, use of an electronic mail (e-mail) with a file attached thereto (hereinafter also referred to as a file-attached e-mail) has been known (this method will be also referred to as e-mail file transfer).  
         [0006]     In e-mail file transfer, management of the file attached to the e-mail is problematic. By way of example, if the attached file becomes unnecessary after transmission of the file-attached e-mail, the attachment file undesirably occupies a hard disk capacity.  
         [0007]     Methods of efficiently managing attachment files have been disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2003-36232, 2003-122689 and 2002-158690.  
         [0008]     According to the techniques disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2003-36232, 2003-122689 and 2002-158690, however, if an attachment file becomes unnecessary after transmitting the file-attached e-mail, it is necessary for the user to manually delete the attachment file.  
         [0009]     When a file attached to a received e-mail is to be edited and the edited file is to be transmitted as an attachment to a return mail, it is necessary for the user to temporarily save the edited file in a hard disk and to attach the file to the return mail manually. This is a troublesome task for the user.  
         [0010]     In some cases, the edited file to be attached to the e-mail may be unnecessary. If the edited file should contain some confidential information, the secret information might possibly be leaked unless the edited file is deleted. Further, the unnecessary edited file undesirably occupies hard disk capacity.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a program product that enables a computer to effectively utilize its storage area.  
         [0012]     According to as aspect, the present invention provides a program product that cooperates with an e-mail program having a function of transmitting/receiving an e-email and a function of forming an e-mail with an application program data attached thereto, and the program product causes a computer to execute the steps of: storing an edition data processed by an application program in a storage unit of the computer; passing information to form an edition-data-attached e-mail having the edition data stored in the storage unit attached thereto, to the e-mail program; deleting, in response to a notice from the e-mail program that the edition-data-attached e-mail has been formed, the edition data stored in the storage unit.  
         [0013]     Preferably, the program product causes the computer to further execute the steps of: receiving a user&#39;s instruction to form an e-mail; and storing an edition data processed by an application program in a storage unit of the computer in response to the instruction.  
         [0014]     Preferably, the edition-data-attached e-mail is a return mail to an e-mail received by the e-mail program.  
         [0015]     Preferably, the storage unit has a mail address list stored therein, and when the e-mail program receives an e-mail with the data of an application program attached thereto, the program product causes a computer to execute the steps of: reading information related to a transmission source of the e-mail with the data of the application program attached thereto, and if the read information of transmission source is included in the mail address list, passing information for forming an edition-data-attached e-mail, to the e-mail program.  
         [0016]     Preferably, the program product has a module operating as a plug-in of the application program.  
         [0017]     Preferably, the program product causes the computer to further execute the step of: deleting the edition data such that recovery of the edition data from the storage unit is fully prevented.  
         [0018]     Preferably, the storage unit stores the data in a non-volatile manner.  
         [0019]     According to another aspect, the present invention provides a program product that cooperates with an e-mail program having a function of transmitting/receiving an e-mail and a function of forming an e-mail with an application program data attached thereto, and the program product causes a computer to execute the steps of: after an edition-data-attached e-mail having the edition data formed by the application program and stored in the storage unit attached thereto is transmitted by the e-mail program, analyzing information of the edition data attached to the edition-data-attached e-mail; and deleting the edition data stored in the storage unit in accordance with the analysis of the edition data.  
         [0020]     Preferably, the edition-data-attached e-mail is a return mail to an e-mail received by the e-mail program.  
         [0021]     Preferably, the program product has a module operating as a plug-in of the application program.  
         [0022]     Preferably, the program product causes the computer to further execute the step of: deleting the edition data such that recovery of the edition data from the storage unit is fully prevented.  
         [0023]     Preferably, the storage unit stores the data in a non-volatile manner.  
         [0024]     According to a further aspect, the present invention provides a program product that cooperates with an e-mail program having a function of transmitting/receiving an e-email and a function of forming an e-mail with an application program data attached thereto, and the program product causes a computer to execute the steps of: receiving a user&#39;s instruction to form a e-mail; storing an edition data processed by an application program in a storage unit of the computer in response to the instruction; and passing information for forming an edition-data-attached e-mail, that is, an e-mail having the edition data stored in the storage unit attached thereto, to the e-mail program.  
         [0025]     According to a still further aspect, the present invention provides a program product that cooperates with an e-mail program having a function of transmitting/receiving an e-mail and a function of forming an e-mail with an application program data attached thereto, and the program product causes a computer to execute the steps of: receiving an instruction to form an e-mail having an edition data formed by the application program and stored in the storage unit of the computer attached thereto; reading attribute of the stored edition data in response to the instruction; and passing information to form the e-mail to the e-mail program, in accordance with the read attribute of the edition data.  
         [0026]     Preferably, the e-mail program forms an e-mail in accordance with the read attribute of the edition data.  
         [0027]     Preferably, the information is return information to the e-mail received by the e-mail program.  
         [0028]     According to the present invention, the edition data attached to the edition-data-attached e-mail is automatically deleted, and therefore, hard disk capacity is not wasted. As a result, the storage area of the hard disk can effectively be utilized. Further, as the edition data is automatically deleted, it becomes unnecessary for the user to delete the edition data through troublesome manual operation.  
         [0029]     The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0030]      FIG. 1  schematically represents a network system capable of transmitting/receiving an e-mail, in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0031]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram representing an internal configuration of a PC in accordance with the embodiment.  
         [0032]      FIG. 3  shows a list of mail addresses.  
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is a functional block diagram representing mutual relations among a plurality of software programs activated by a control unit.  
         [0034]      FIG. 5  shows a table of mail data.  
         [0035]      FIG. 6  is an image displaying e-mail contents.  
         [0036]      FIG. 7  is an image of an application program showing an activated application program.  
         [0037]      FIG. 8  shows an exemplary file configuration used in the present embodiment.  
         [0038]      FIG. 9  is a flow chart representing a process performed by a mailer and an application program in accordance with the present embodiment.  
         [0039]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart representing a file editing process.  
         [0040]      FIG. 11  is an image representing a return mail.  
         [0041]      FIG. 12  is a flow chart representing a mail editing process.  
         [0042]      FIG. 13  is a flow chart representing a mail transmitting process.  
         [0043]      FIG. 14  is a an image representing a new e-mail.  
         [0044]      FIG. 15  is a block diagram representing an internal configuration of a PC in accordance with a second embodiment.  
         [0045]      FIG. 16  is a functional block diagram representing mutual relations among a plurality of software programs activated by a control unit in accordance with the second embodiment.  
         [0046]      FIG. 17  is an image of an application program showing an activated application program.  
         [0047]      FIG. 18  is a flow chart representing a process performed by a mailer and an application program in accordance with the second embodiment.  
         [0048]      FIG. 19  is a block diagram representing an internal configuration of a PC in accordance with a third embodiment.  
         [0049]      FIG. 20  is a functional block diagram representing mutual relations among a plurality of software programs activated by a control unit in accordance with the third embodiment.  
         [0050]      FIG. 21  represents a received mail viewing image of a mailer in accordance with the third embodiment.  
         [0051]      FIGS. 22A and 22B  are flow charts representing a process performed by a mailer and an application program in accordance with the third embodiment.  
         [0052]      FIG. 23  is an image of an application program showing an activated application program.  
         [0053]      FIG. 24  is an image representing a new e-mail  
         [0054]      FIG. 25  is an image representing a return mail. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0055]     Embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following with reference to the figures. In the following description, same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference characters, and names and functions thereof are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.  
       First Embodiment  
       [0056]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a network system  1000  includes a network  100 , an external network  150  such as the Internet, and a mail server  160 .  
         [0057]     Network  100  includes a network circuit  180 , personal computers (hereinafter also denoted by PCs)  110 . 1 ,  110 . 2  and  110 . 3 , multi function peripherals (hereinafter also denoted by MFPs)  120 . 1  and  120 . 2 , and a communication unit  135 . MFPs  120 . 1  and  120 . 2  have a plurality of functions including the functions of a printer, a facsimile and a scanner.  
         [0058]     Communication unit  135  performs wired or wireless data communication with network circuit  180 . Communication unit  135  performs data communication with network  150 . Communication unit  135  is a communication interface (such as a router) utilizing Ethernet (Registered Trademark).  
         [0059]     Further, communication unit  135  may be any communication interface that performs data communication utilizing wired or wireless LAN technique, such as IEEE 802.11a, IEEE802.11b or IEEE802.11g as a wireless LAN standard.  
         [0060]     Network  150  is connected to mail server  160 .  
         [0061]     Mail server  160  temporarily stores an e-mail data received from network  100  or e-mail data addressed to a device in network  100 .  
         [0062]     Each of PCs  110 . 1 ,  110 . 2  and  110 . 3  performs wired or wireless data communication with network circuit  180 . A unique IP address is allotted to each of PCs  110 . 1 ,  110 . 2  and  110 . 3 .  
         [0063]     Each of MFPs  120 . 1  and  120 . 2  performs wired or wireless data communication with network circuit  180 . A unique IP address is allotted to each of MFPs  120 . 1  and  120 . 2 . In the following, PCs  110 . 1 ,  110 . 2  and  110 . 3  will be generally denoted by PC  10 , and MFPs  120 . 1  and  120 . 2  will be generally denoted by MFP  120 .  
         [0064]     Network  100  of the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration above. By way of example, one or more PCs and one or more MFPs may be connected to the network, one or more PCs only may be connected to the network, or one or more MFPs only may be connected to the network.  
         [0065]     Network system  1000  of the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration above, either. By way of example, mail server  160  may be provided inside the network  100 .  
         [0066]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram representing an internal configuration of PC  110  in accordance with the present embodiment. For easier description, communication unit  135 , network  150 , mail server  160  and a recording medium  175  are also shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0067]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a display unit  80 , a mouse  162  and a keyboard  164  are connected to PC  110 .  
         [0068]     Display unit  80  displays an image based on image data output from PC  110 . Display unit  80  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT), a field emission display (FED), plasma display panel (PDP), organic electro luminescence (EL) display, a dot matrix display, or a display device of any other type.  
         [0069]     Mouse  162  is an interface for the user to operate PC  110 .  
         [0070]     Keyboard  164  is an interface for the user to operate PC  110 .  
         [0071]     PC  110  includes a control unit  112 , a temporary data storage  122 , a storage unit  140 , a communication unit  130 , a VDP (Video Display Processor)  150 , a CGROM (Character Graphic Read Only Memory)  152 , a VRAM (Video Random Access Memory)  154 , an input unit  161  and a recording medium access unit  170 .  
         [0072]     CGROM  152  stores image data for generating an image to be displayed on display unit  80 , such as font data and figure data.  
         [0073]     Storage unit  140  stores a mail management program  177 , application program data, mail address data, a mail data table and the like, to have control unit  112  perform a prescribed process. Storage unit  140  is data-accessed by control unit  112 . Storage unit  140  is a hard disk that can store a large amount of data. Storage unit  140  is not limited to a hard disk, and it may be any medium that can retain data (such as a flash memory) even when power is not supplied.  
         [0074]     Specifically, storage unit  140  may be an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) that allows unlimited number of erasure and writing, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) of which content can be electrically rewritten, an UV-EPROM (Ultra-Violet Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) allowing unlimited number of erasure and writing by ultra-violet ray, or any other circuit that has a structure allowing storage and retention of data in a non-volatile manner.  
         [0075]      FIG. 3  shows the mail address data.  
         [0076]     The mail address data represents data of a list having mail addresses of frequent recipients of return mail.  
         [0077]     Again referring to  FIG. 2 , control unit  112  has a function of performing operations and various processes related to components inside PC  110  in accordance with a mail management program  177  stored in storage unit  140 .  
         [0078]     Further, control unit  112  issues an instruction to VDP  150  to generate an image and to display the image on display unit  80  (hereinafter also referred to as “image display instruction”), in accordance with the application program data and mail management program  177  stored in storage  140 .  
         [0079]     Control unit  112  may be a microprocessor, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that is a programmable LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) that is an integrated circuit designed and manufactured for a specific application, or any other circuit having an operating function.  
         [0080]     VDP  150  is connected to display unit  80 . VDP  150  reads necessary image data from CGROM  152  in response to an image display instruction from control unit  112 , and generates an image using VRAM  154 . Then, VDP  150  reads the image data stored in VRAM  154  and displays an image on display unit  80  based on the image data.  
         [0081]     VRAM  154  has a function of temporarily storing the image generated by VDP  150 .  
         [0082]     Temporary data storage  122  is accessed for data by control unit  112 , and is used as a work memory that temporarily stores data.  
         [0083]     Temporary data storage  122  may be an RAM (Random Access Memory) that can temporarily store data, an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), an SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM), a DDR-SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM) that is an SDRAM having a high data transfer function of double data rate mode, an RDRAM (Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory) that is a DRAM adopting a high speed interface technique developed by Rambus Inc., a Direct-RDRAM (Direct Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory), or any other circuit that has a structure allowing storage and retention of data in a volatile manner.  
         [0084]     Mouse  162  and keyboard  164  are connected to input unit  161 . An input instruction from mouse  162  or keyboard  164  is transmitted through input unit  161  to control unit  112 . Control unit  112  performs a prescribed process in accordance with the input instruction from input unit  161 .  
         [0085]     Recording medium access unit  170  has a function of reading mail management program  177  from a recording medium  175  having mail management program  177  recorded thereon. Mail management program  177  recorded on recording medium  175  is read from recording medium access unit  170  by the operation (install process) of control unit  112  and stored in storage unit  140 .  
         [0086]     Recording medium  175  may be a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory), a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), an MO (Magneto Optical Disk), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CF (Compact Flash) card, an SM (Smart Media (registered trademark)), an MMC (Multi Media Card), an SD (Secure Digital) memory card, a memory stick (registered trademark), an xD picture card, an USB memory or any other non-volatile memory. Specifically, mail management program  177  and mail management programs  177 A and  177 B that will be described later are distributed as program products recorded on a medium.  
         [0087]     Communication unit  130  performs data communication with control unit  112 . Further, communication unit  130  performs wired or wireless data communication with communication unit  135 . Communication unit  130  is a communication interface utilizing Ethernet (Registered Trademark).  
         [0088]     Further, communication unit  130  may be any communication interface that performs data communication utilizing wired or wireless LAN technique, such as IEEE 802.11a, IEEE802.11b or IEEE802.11g as a wireless LAN standard.  
         [0089]     Further, communication unit  130  may be any communication interface that performs serial transfer such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) 1.1 or USB 2.0. Alternatively, communication unit  130  may be any communication interface that performs parallel transfer such as centronics specification or IEEE 1284 (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers  1284 ). Alternatively, communication unit  130  may be any communication interface adopting IEEE 1394 or other SCSI standard.  
         [0090]      FIG. 4  is a functional block diagram representing mutual relations among a plurality of software programs activated by control unit  112 . For easier description, storage unit  140  and temporary data storage  122  are also shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0091]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , in the present embodiment, software programs that are operated by control unit  112  include a mailer  300  that is an e-mail program, an application program  310  and an OS (Operating System)  320 . Mailer  300 , application program  310  and OS  320  are read from storage unit  140  and activated by control unit  112 . It is noted that mailer  300  and application program  310  are software programs operating on OS  320 .  
         [0092]     In the present embodiment, it is assumed that mailer  300  is Output Express (registered trademark). When a file-attached e-mail is formed, Outlook Express (registered trademark) converts the file in accordance with MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) format, and incorporates the converted file into the e-mail. Therefore, at the time when the file-attached e-mail has been formed by Outlook Express (registered trademark), the original file may be deleted.  
         [0093]     In the present embodiment, mailer  300  is not limited to Outlook Express (registered trademark), and any mailer, which has the function that when a file-attached e-mail is formed, the file is converted in accordance with a prescribed format (for example, MIME format) and the converted file is incorporated into the e-mail, may be used.  
         [0094]     By way of example, application program  310  is assumed to be Microsoft (registered trademark) Excel. In the present embodiment, mail management program  177  is a plug-in type program that operates incorporated into application program  310  (for example, Microsoft (registered trademark) Excel). Therefore, mail management program  177  has a module that is incorporated in application program  310  and operates as a plug-in. In the present embodiment, application program  310  is not limited to Microsoft (registered trademark) Excel. By way of example, application program  310  may be Microsoft (registered trademark) Word.  
         [0095]     OS  320  is assumed to be the next version of Windows (registered trademark) known by the code name “Longhorn”. “Longhorn” is the next version of Windows (registered trademark) OS that follows Windows (registered trademark) XP. “Longhorn” includes a file storage system having the code name “WinFS”.  
         [0096]     “WinFS” stores information as to which e-mail is the source that had the file originally attached, as regards a file of a file-attached e-mail. The present embodiment utilizes this function of “WinFS”.  
         [0097]     It is noted that OS  320  is not limited to the next version of Windows (registered trademark) called by the code name “Longhorn”. Any other OS may be used as OS  320  that has the function similar to that of the file storage system of “WinFS”.  
         [0098]     Storage unit  140  includes a normal storage area  142  storing data and a temporary area  144 . Temporary area  144  temporarily stores data, and the data is deleted later. Here, temporary area  144  is that storage area of storage unit  140  which is set by OS  320  as a temporary folder.  
         [0099]     Mailer  300  includes a mail receiving unit  302  and a mail viewing unit  303 .  
         [0100]     Mail receiving unit  302  performs an e-mail receiving process. The e-mail received by mail receiving unit  302  is stored as mail data in normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140 . In the following, a plurality of mail data stored in normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140  will be referred to as mail data table.  
         [0101]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , in mail data table T 100 , a mail history ID, subject, TO destination, CC (carbon copy) destination, BCC (blind carbon copy) destination, source, date and time of mailing and main message of the mail are contained, in correspondence to each of the plurality of mail data.  
         [0102]     Mail history ID represents an identification information for identifying the e-mail.  
         [0103]     Again referring to  FIG. 4 , mail viewing unit  303  reads data of the e-mail stored in normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140 , and generates an image displaying the contents of the e-mail.  
         [0104]      FIG. 6  shows the image  500  displaying the contents of the e-mail. Image  500  displaying the contents of the e-mail appears as a window on display unit  80 .  
         [0105]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , image  500  displaying the contents of the e-mail has a display box  520  indicating the source of the e-mail, a display box  522  indicating a destination of the e-mail, a display box  524  indicating CC (carbon copy), a display box  526  indicating a subject, a display box  528  indicating a name of an attached file, and a display box  530  indicating the main message of the e-mail.  
         [0106]     Image  500  displaying the contents of the e-mail further has a button  510  for closing the window (image  500  displaying the contents of the e-mail), and a button  512  for transmitting the e-mail having the contents displayed on image  500  to e-mail addresses input to display boxes  522  and  524 .  
         [0107]     Display boxes  522  and  524  are set to a state that allows character input (hereinafter referred to as a character input possible state), by a single-click of mouse  162  by a user. When either of display boxes  522  and  524  is set to the character input possible state, the user can input desired characters or numbers using keyboard  164 .  
         [0108]     When the attached file name (Competition information.xls) on display box  528  is double-clicked by the user using mouse  162  (hereinafter, this will also be referred to as edition instruction), application program  310  (Microsoft (registered trademark) Excel) for editing the attached file is activated.  
         [0109]     Again referring to  FIG. 4 , at this time, an application activating instruction for activating application program  310  for editing an attachment file is transmitted from mail viewing unit  303  to application program  310 . In response to the application activating instruction, application program  310  is activated to a state that allows edition of the attachment file.  
         [0110]     Application program  310  includes a file editing unit  311 , and a mail management program  177  as a plug-in of application program  310 .  
         [0111]     File editing unit  311  performs the process of editing a file. The edited file (hereinafter also referred to as edited data) is stored in storage unit  140 , by the process of file editing unit  311 .  
         [0112]     Mail management program  177  makes a data-access to temporary data storage  122  and to storage unit  140 .  
         [0113]      FIG. 7  shows an application program image  600  of application program  310  that is activated. Application program image  600  appears as a window on display  80 .  
         [0114]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , application program image  600  has a button  620  for forming an e-mail to which the file that is being edited is attached, a file edition image  630  that is a portion for editing the file in application program  310 , and a button  610  for closing the window (application program image  600 ).  
         [0115]     Button  620  is displayed by mail management program  177  as a plug-in.  
         [0116]     Again referring to  FIG. 4 , OS  320  includes a file attribute determining unit  322 , a file deleting unit  323  and a whitening unit  324 .  
         [0117]     File attribute determining unit  322 , file deleting unit  323  and whitening unit  324  in the present embodiment operate in the “WinpS” file storage system mentioned above.  
         [0118]     By way of example, file attribute determining unit  322  is capable of determining to which e-mail the file that is being edited by application program  310  was attached.  
         [0119]      FIG. 8  shows an exemplary configuration of a file used in the present embodiment. The file shown in  FIG. 8  is a file that was attached to an e-mail.  
         [0120]     Referring to  FIG. 8 , a file handled by the “WinFS” file storage system consists, by way of example, of a file attribute portion and a data portion.  
         [0121]     The file attribute portion includes a file name, path information, application information, file size, updated time, mail attachment information, mail history ID and so on.  
         [0122]     Path information is to specify a location where the attachment file is stored. The application information is related to the application by which the file was formed. The mail history ID is for specifying the e-mail to which the file had been attached.  
         [0123]     Again referring to  FIG. 4 , file attribute determining unit  322  is capable of determining to which e-mail the file of interest was attached, from the file having a configuration such as shown in  FIG. 8 .  
         [0124]     File deleting unit  323  deletes the data stored in temporary area  144  of storage unit  140 .  
         [0125]     Whitening unit  324  performs a whitening process that fully prevents recovery of the data deleted by file deleting unit  323 , in temporary area  144  of storage unit  140 .  
         [0126]     Mailer  300  further includes a mail forming unit  304 , a mail transmitting unit  306  and a history managing unit  307 .  
         [0127]     Mail forming unit  304  forms a mail in response to a mail formation instruction from mail management program  177 . When a mail is formed, mail forming unit  304  passes a mail formation complete notice notifying completion of mail formation to mail management program  177 .  
         [0128]     Mail transmitting unit  306  performs a process for transmitting the e-mail.  
         [0129]     History managing unit  307  manages the mail data table that is stored in normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140 .  
         [0130]      FIG. 9  is a flow chart representing processes executed by mailer  300  and application program  310  in accordance with the present embodiment.  
         [0131]     The processes of steps S 210 , S 212 , S 214 , S 220 , S 242 , S 243 , S 244 , S 245 , S 250 , S 256 , S 258  and S 275  are performed by mail management program  177  incorporated as a plug-in to application program  310 .  
         [0132]     Next, referring to  FIGS. 2, 4 ,  7  and  9 , the processes executed by mailer  300  and application program  310  in accordance with the present embodiment will be described.  
         [0133]     In step S 100 , mail receiving unit  302  performs an e-mail receiving process. The e-mail received by mail receiving unit  302  is stored as mail data in normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140 . Thereafter, the process of step S 105  takes place.  
         [0134]     In step S 105 , whether the received e-mail has an attachment file or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 105  that the received e-mail has an attachment file, the flow proceeds to step S 110 . If it is determined in step S 105  that the received e-mail does not have any attachment file, the flow proceeds to step S 170 , which will be described later.  
         [0135]     In step S 110 , whether the above-described edition instruction for editing the attachment file has been issued or not is determined. If it is determined in S 110  that there is the edition instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 115 . If it is determined in S 110  that there is no edition instruction, the process of step S 110  is repeated.  
         [0136]     In step S 115 , mail viewing unit  303  has the attachment file stored in temporary area  144  of storage unit  140 . Thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S 120 .  
         [0137]     In step S 120 , mail viewing unit  303  transmits an application activation instruction to application program  310  for editing the attachment file that has been stored in temporary area  144 . In response to the application activation instruction, application program  310  reads the attachment file, and is activated to a state that allows edition of the attachment file.  
         [0138]     In application program  310 , first, the process of step S 200  is performed.  
         [0139]     Step S 200  is a file editing process.  
         [0140]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart representing the file editing process.  
         [0141]     Referring to  FIG. 10 , in step S 222 , whether there is a file edition instruction or not is determined. By way of example, when the user edits a part of file editing image  630  using mouse  162  and keyboard  164 , application program  310  receives a file edition instruction from file editing unit  311 . Application program  310  determines that there is a file edition instruction, upon reception of the file edition instruction.  
         [0142]     If it is determined in step S 222  that there is a file edition instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 224 . If it is determined in step S 222  that there is not a file edition instruction, the process of step S 222  is repeated.  
         [0143]     In step S 224 , file editing unit  311  has the data of the edited portion of the file (hereinafter also referred to as an edited portion data) in temporary data storage  122 . Then, the file editing process ends and the control returns to the main flow.  
         [0144]     Again referring to  FIG. 9  when the process of step S 200  ends, the flow proceeds to step S 210 .  
         [0145]     In step S 210 , whether there is a mail formation instruction or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user has single-clicked the button  620  arranged on application program image  600  of  FIG. 7  by mouse  162  or not is determined.  
         [0146]     If it is determined in step S 210  that the user has single-clicked button  620  by mouse  162 , the flow proceeds to the process of step S 212 . If it is determined in step S 210  that the user has not single-clicked button  620  by mouse  162 , the process of step S 200  is repeated.  
         [0147]     In step S 212 , the edition data at the time the user single-clicked button  620  by mouse  162  is stored in temporary area  144 . Specifically, the edited portion data stored in temporary data storage  122  is read by mail management program  177 , and mail management program  177  has the edition data based on the edited portion data stored in temporary area  144 .  
         [0148]     If data before edition has been stored in temporary area  144  by the process of step S 115 , the data before edition is deleted, and the edited data is stored. Namely, the data is rewritten and stored. Thereafter, the process of step S 214  starts.  
         [0149]     In step S 214 , a file attribute determining process is performed. In the file attribute determining process, file editing unit  311  causes file attribute determining unit  322  to determine whether the file stored in temporary area  144  in step S 212  (in the following, also referred to as a temporarily stored file) was attached to an e-mail or not.  
         [0150]     In the file attribute determining process, if it is determined that the temporarily stored file was attached to an e-mail, file editing unit  311  causes file attribute determining unit  322  to determine to which e-mail the temporarily stored file was attached. Thereafter, the process of step S 220  is performed.  
         [0151]     If it is determined in step S 220  that the temporarily stored file was attached to an e-mail based on the process of step S 214 , the flow proceeds to step S 242 . If it is determined from the process of step S 214  that the temporarily stored file was not attached to an e-mail, the flow proceeds to step S 275 , which will be described later.  
         [0152]     In step S 242 , mail management program  177  reads the mail data of the e-mail (by way of example, the data of the row having mail history ID of “0001” in mail data table T 100  shown in  FIG. 5 ) determined by file attribute determining process of step S 214 , from normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140 . Thereafter, the process of step S 243  is performed.  
         [0153]     In step S 243 , whether the source of the e-mail is an individual or not is determined, based on the mail data read in step S 242 . This is to prevent formation of a return mail to a mail directly sent from an MFP (such as a mail having a scanned original image attached thereto).  
         [0154]     If it is determined in step S 243  that the source of the e-mail is an individual, the flow proceeds to step S 244 . If it is determined in step S 243  that the source of the e-mail is not an individual (for example, MFP), the flow proceeds to step S 275 , which will be described later.  
         [0155]     In step S 244 , based on the mail data read in step S 242 , whether the source of the e-mail has been registered in advance (listed in the mail address data of  FIG. 3 ) or not is determined. This is to automatically form a return mail not to all the e-mails from individuals but only to persons to whom return mails are frequently sent.  
         [0156]     If it is determined in step S 244  that the source of the e-mail has been registered in advance, the flow proceeds to step S 245 . If it is determined in step S 244  that the source of the e-mail has not been registered in advance, the flow proceeds to step S 275 , which will be described later. In step S 275 , an instruction is given to form a new mail having the edited data attached thereto, of which details will be described later.  
         [0157]     In the present embodiment, at least one of steps S 243  and S 244  may be omitted.  
         [0158]     In step S 245 , mail management program  177  passes an instruction to form a return mail with the edited data attached, to mailer  300 . At the same time, mail management program  177  also passes path information for specifying the location where the edited data is stored and the information related to the source of the e-mail, to mailer  300 .  
         [0159]     The process in which mailer  300  determines whether the instruction to form a return mail has been given by mail management program  177  or not is performed in steps S 130  and S 132 .  
         [0160]     The process of step S 130  is performed after the process of step S 120  described above.  
         [0161]     In step S 130 , whether an instruction to form a mail has been received from mail management program  177  or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 130  that there is a mail formation instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 132 . If it is determined in step S 130  that there is not a mail formation instruction, the process of step S 130  is repeated.  
         [0162]     In step S 132 , whether the mail formation instruction received by mailer  300  is a return mail formation instruction or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 132  that the instruction is the return mail formation instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 134 . If it is determined in step S 132  that the instruction is not a return mail formation instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 136 , which will be described later.  
         [0163]     In step S 134 , mail forming unit  304  reads the edited data from temporary area  144  of storage unit  140 , based on the path information. Mail forming unit  304  forms a return mail having the read edited data attached thereto (hereinafter also referred to as a edited-data-attached e-mail), based on the information of the source received from mail management program  177 . Thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S 140 .  
         [0164]      FIG. 11  is an image representing a return mail  700 . The return mail image  700  appears as a window on display unit  80 .  
         [0165]     Referring to  FIG. 11 , return mail image  700  is different from e-mail contents display image  500  in that it does not includes display box  520 , display box  522  is replaced by input box  722 , display box  524  is replaced by input box  724 , display box  526  is replaced by input box  726 , display box  528  is replaced by input box  728 , and display box  530  is replaced by input box  730 .  
         [0166]     Further, return mail image  700  is different from e-mail contents display image  500  in that button  510  is replaced by button  710  and button  512  is replaced by button  712 . Except for these points, it is the same as e-mail contents display image  500 , and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated.  
         [0167]     Input box  722  is for inputting the destination of the e-mail. Input box  724  is for inputting CC (carbon copy). Input box  726  is for inputting the subject. Input box  728  indicates the file name of the edited data, that is, the attachment file. Input box  730  is for inputting messages.  
         [0168]     Button  710  is for closing the window (return mail image  700 ). Button  712  is for transmitting the e-mail having the contents displayed on return mail image  700  to the e-mail addresses input to boxes  722  and  724 .  
         [0169]     When a return mail to the mail shown in e-mail contents display image  500  is to be formed, for instance, the mail address of the source of e-mail contents display image  500  is automatically input to input box  722 .  
         [0170]     Input boxes  722 ,  724 ,  726  and  730  are set to a state that allows character input (hereinafter referred to as a character input possible state), by a single-click of mouse  162  by a user. When any of input boxes  722 ,  724 ,  726  and  730  is set to the character input possible state, the user can input desired characters or numbers using keyboard  164 .  
         [0171]     Again referring to  FIG. 9 , in step S 140 , a mail formation complete notice notifying that the mail has been formed, is passed to mail management program  177 .  
         [0172]     The process in which mail management program  177  determines whether the mail formation complete notice is received from mailer  300  or not is performed in step S 250 .  
         [0173]     The process of step S 250  is performed after the process of step S 245  described above.  
         [0174]     In step S 250 , whether the mail formation complete notice is received from mailer  300  or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 250  that the mail formation complete notice is received, the flow proceeds to step S 256 . If it is determined in step S 250  that the mail formation complete notice is not received from mailer  300 , the process of step S 250  is repeated.  
         [0175]     In step S 256 , the edited data stored in temporary area  144  is deleted. Specifically, mail management program  177  issues a deletion instruction to file deleting unit  323  to delete the edited data stored in temporary area  144 . In response to the deletion instruction, file deleting unit  323  deletes the edited data stored in temporary area  144 . Thereafter, the process of step S 258  is performed.  
         [0176]     If it is necessary to save the edition data in normal storage area  142 , a process may be performed between the steps S 250  and S 256  in which the edition data stored in temporary area  144  is replicated in normal storage area  142 .  
         [0177]     In step S 258 , the whitening process is performed. Specifically, mail management program  177  instructs whitening unit  324  to perform whitening, so as to fully prevent recovery of the edition data that has been deleted in step S 256  in temporary area  144 . Whitening unit  324  performs the whitening process to fully prevent recovery of the deleted edition data, in response to the whitening instruction. Then, the process of application program  310  ends.  
         [0178]     Following the process of step S  140 , mailer  300  performs the process of step S 170 .  
         [0179]     In step S 170 , a mail editing process is performed.  
         [0180]      FIG. 12  is a flow chart representing the mail editing process.  
         [0181]     Referring to  FIG. 12 , in step S 300 , whether there is an edition in destination or not is determined. Specifically, whether any of the input boxes  722  and  724  of return mail image  700  shown in  FIG. 11  has been edited by the user through mouse  162  and keyboard  164  or not is determined.  
         [0182]     If it is determined in step S 300  that there is an edition in destination, the process of step S 302  is performed. If it is determined in step S 300  that there is not an edition in destination, the process of step S 310 , which will be described later, is performed.  
         [0183]     In step S 302 , mail forming unit  304  has data with its destination edited (hereinafter also referred to as destination-edited data) stored in temporary data storage  122 . Thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S 320 .  
         [0184]     In step S 320 , whether there is an edition end instruction or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user has single-clicked button  710  on return mail image  700  by mouse  162  or not is determined.  
         [0185]     If it is determined in step S 320  that the user has single-clicked button  710  on return mail image  700  by mouse  162 , the window (return mail image  700 ) is closed (deleted). Then, the mail editing process ends and the control returns to the main flow. If it is determined in step S 320  that the user has not single-clicked button  710  on return mail image  700  by mouse  162 , the process of step S 300  is repeated.  
         [0186]     If it is determined in step S 300  that there is not an edition in destination, the process of step S 310  is performed.  
         [0187]     In step S 310 , whether there is an edition in message or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user has input or edited a message of input box  730  of return mail image  700  shown in  FIG. 11  by mouse  162  and keyboard  164  or not is determined.  
         [0188]     If it is determined in step S 310  that there is an edition in message, the flow proceeds to step S 312 . If it is determined in step S 310  that there is not an edition in message, the process of step S 320  described above is performed.  
         [0189]     In step S 312 , mail forming unit  304  has data of the message input to input box  730  (hereinafter also referred to as message data) stored in temporary data storage  122 . Thereafter, the process of step S 320  described above is performed.  
         [0190]     Again referring to  FIG. 9 , when the process of step S 170  ends, the flow proceeds to step S 180 .  
         [0191]     In step S 180 , whether there is a mail transmission instruction or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user has single-clicked button  712  on return mail image  700  by mouse  162  or not is determined.  
         [0192]     If it is determined in step S  180  that the user has single-clicked button  712  by mouse  162 , the process of step S  190  is performed. If it is determined in step S 180  that the user has not single-clicked button  712  by mouse  162 , the process of step S 170  is repeated.  
         [0193]     In step S 190 , a mail transmission process is performed.  
         [0194]      FIG. 13  is a flow chart representing the mail transmission process.  
         [0195]     Referring to  FIG. 13 , in step S 410 , whether a destination has been input to input box  722  or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 410  that the destination has been input to input box  722 , the flow proceeds to step S 420 . If it is determined in step S 410  that the destination has not been input to input box  722 , the flow proceeds to step S 412 .  
         [0196]     In step S 412 , a dialog indicating lack of destination is displayed on display unit  80 , as a warning to the user. Thereafter, the process of step S 170  is repeated.  
         [0197]     In step S 420 , whether a message has been input to input box  730  or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 420  that a message has been input to input box  730 , the process of step S 424  is performed. If it is determined in step S 420  that no message has been input to input box  730 , the process of step S 422  is performed.  
         [0198]     In step S 422 , a dialog indicating that no message has been input is displayed on display unit  80 , as a warning to the user. Thereafter, the process of step S 170  is repeated.  
         [0199]     In step S 424 , mail transmitting unit  306  transmits an e-mail having the contents shown on return mail image  700  to the e-mail address or addresses input to input box  722  and  724 . Thus, the mail transmitting process ends and the control returns to the main flow.  
         [0200]     Then, the process of mailer  300  ends.  
         [0201]     As described above, in the present embodiment, a file that has been attached to a received e-mail can be edited and an edited-data-attached e-mail as a return mail can be formed through a simple operation.  
         [0202]     As the edition data attached to the edited-data-attached e-mail is automatically deleted, hard disk capacity is not wasted. As a result, storage area of the hard disk can effectively be used. Further, as the edition data is deleted automatically, troublesome operation by the user to delete the edition data becomes unnecessary.  
         [0203]     Even if the edition data is confidential and unnecessary, whitening process is performed to fully prevent recovery of the edition data, and therefore, possibility of leakage of the confidential data is minimized.  
         [0204]     In the foregoing, a process for editing a file that has been attached to an e-mail and for forming an e-mail with the edited file attached has been described.  
         [0205]     Next, formation of an edited-file-attached e-mail having a file newly formed by application program  310  attached thereto, or an edited-file-attached e-mail having a file that has been formed previously and edited by application program  310  attached thereto will be described. It is assumed that application program  310  has been activated.  
         [0206]     Referring to  FIGS. 2, 4 ,  6  and  9 , by application program  310 , processes of steps S 200 , S 210 , S 212 , S 214  and S 220  as described above are performed.  
         [0207]     If it is determined in step S 220  that a temporary storage file is not attached to an e-mail, the flow proceeds to step S 275 . Here, it is the case that application program  310  is forming a new file, or application program  310  has read a file formed previously from storage unit  140  and is editing the file.  
         [0208]     In step S 275 , mail management program  177  passes an instruction to mailer  300  to form a new mail with edited file attached thereto. At the same time, mail management program  177  also passes path information for specifying the location where the edition data is stored, to mailer  300 .  
         [0209]     The process in which mailer  300  determines whether the instruction to form a new mail has been received from mail management program  177  or not is performed in steps S 130  and S 132  described above.  
         [0210]     In step S 130 , whether a mail formation instruction has been received from mail management program  177  or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 130  that the mail formation instruction has been received, the flow proceeds to step S 132 . If it is determined in step S 130  that the mail formation instruction has not been received, the process of step S 130  is repeated.  
         [0211]     In step S 132 , whether the mail formation instruction received by mailer  300  is an instruction to form a return mail or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 132  that the mail formation instruction is not to form a return mail, that is, the instruction is to form a new mail, the flow proceeds to step S 136 .  
         [0212]     In step S 136 , mail forming unit  304  reads edition data from temporary area  144  based on the received path information. Mail forming unit  304  forms a new mail with the read edition data attached (hereinafter also referred to as edited-data-attached new mail). Then, the flow proceeds to step S 140  that has been described above.  
         [0213]      FIG. 14  is an image  700 A showing a new mail. New mail image  700 A appears as a window on display unit  80 .  
         [0214]     Referring to  FIG. 14 , new mail image  700 A is different from return mail image  700  of  FIG. 11  in that nothing is described in input boxes  722  and  726 . Except for these points, the image is the same as return mail image  700 , and therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.  
         [0215]     Again referring to  FIG. 9 , in step S 140 , a mail formation complete notice indicating completion of mail formation is passed to mail management program  177 .  
         [0216]     The process in which mail management program  177  determines whether the mail formation complete notice has been received from mailer  300  or not is performed in step S 250  described above.  
         [0217]     After the process of step S 250 , steps S 256 , S 258 , S 170 , S 180  and S 190  follow. Then, the process by mailer  300  ends.  
         [0218]     In the present embodiment, the processes of steps S 256  and S 258  described above may be performed not by the application program but by the mailer.  
         [0219]     Through the above-described process, it becomes possible to prepare an edited-file-attached e-mail having a file newly formed by application program  310  attached thereto, or an edited-file-attached e-mail having a file that has been formed previously and edited by application program  310  attached thereto. In this case also, effects similar to those attained by the process of forming a return mail by editing a file that has been attached to a received mail can be attained.  
       Second Embodiment  
       [0220]     In the first embodiment, formation of an e-mail when the OS is Windows (registered trademark) referred to as “Longhorn” having “WinFS” has been described. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the OS is one that does not have “WinFS”, such as Windows (registered trademark) XP.  
         [0221]      FIG. 15  is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a PC  110  in accordance with the second embodiment. For easier description, a communication unit  135 , a network  150 , a mail server  160  and a recording medium  175 A are also shown in  FIG. 15 .  
         [0222]     Referring to  FIG. 15 , the configuration of PC  110  of the second embodiment differs from that of PC  110  of the first embodiment in that storage unit  140  stores a mail management program  177 A in place of mail management program  177 , and that recording medium accessing unit  170  accesses to recording medium  175 A in place of recording medium  175 . Recording medium  175 A is different from recording medium  175  in that it stores mail management program  177 A in place of mail management program  177 .  
         [0223]     Mail management program  177 A stored in recording medium  175 A is read by the operation of control unit  112  (install process) through recording medium accessing unit  170  and stored in storage unit  140 .  
         [0224]     Other configuration is the same as that of PC  110  in accordance with the first embodiment, and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated.  
         [0225]      FIG. 16  is a functional block diagram representing mutual relation among a plurality of software programs activated by control unit  112 , in accordance with the second embodiment. For description, storage unit  140  and temporary data storage  122  are also shown in  FIG. 16 .  
         [0226]     Referring to  FIG. 16 , the software configuration of the second embodiment is different from the software configuration of the first embodiment in that application program  310 A is used in place of application program  310 , and that OS  320 A is used in place of OS  320 .  
         [0227]     Application program  310 A differs from application program  310  in that it contains mail management program  177 A as a plug-in, in place of mail management program  177 . Mail management program  177 A has a module incorporated in application program  310  to operate as a plug-in.  
         [0228]     OS  320 A is assumed to be one not having “WinFS”, such as Windows (registered trademark) XP. In the present embodiment, OS  320 A is not limited to Windows (registered trademark) XP, and it may be any OS not having “WinFS”, such as Windows (registered trademark) 98.  
         [0229]     Other software configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated.  
         [0230]      FIG. 17  shows an application program image  600 A of the activated application program  310 A. Application program image  600 A appears as a window on display unit  80 .  
         [0231]     Referring to  FIG. 17 , application program image  600 A is the same as application program image  600 , and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated.  
         [0232]      FIG. 18  is a flow chart representing processes executed by mailer  300  and application program  310 A in accordance with the second embodiment.  
         [0233]     The processes of steps S 520 , S 521 , S 525 , S 550 , S 566  and S 568  are executed by mail management program  177 A incorporated as a plug-in of application program  310 A.  
         [0234]     Next, referring to  FIGS. 15, 16 ,  17  and  18 , the processes executed by mailer  300  and application program  310 A of the present embodiment will be described.  
         [0235]     Referring to  FIG. 18 , the process of step S 500  is the same as that of step S 100  described above, and therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated. Then, the flow proceeds to step S 501 .  
         [0236]     In step S 501 , whether the received e-mail has an attached file or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 501  that the received e-mail has an attachment file, the flow proceeds to step S 502 . If it is determined in step S 501  that the received e-mail does not have any attachment file, the flow proceeds to step S 574 , which will be described later.  
         [0237]     In step S 502 , whether or not there is an edition instruction to edit the attachment file described above is determined. If it is determined in step S 502  that there is an edition instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 503 . If it is determined in step S 502  that there is not an edition instruction, the process of step S 502  is repeated.  
         [0238]     The process performed in step S 503  is the same as that of step S 115  described above, and therefore detailed description will not be repeated. After the process of step S 503 , the flow proceeds to step S 504 .  
         [0239]     In step S 504 , an application activation instruction is transmitted from mail viewing unit  303  to application program  310 A to edit the attachment file stored in temporary area  144 . In response to the application activation instruction, application program  310 A reads the attachment file, and is activated to a state that allows edition of the attachment file.  
         [0240]     Application program  310 A first executes the process of step S 510 .  
         [0241]     In step S 510 , file edition process is performed. The file editing process is the same as that of step S 200 , and therefore description thereof will not be repeated. Thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S 520 .  
         [0242]     In step S 520 , whether there is a mail formation instruction or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user single-clicked button  620  on application program image  600 A of  FIG. 17  by mouse  162  or not is determined.  
         [0243]     If it is determined in step S 520  that button  620  has been single-clicked by mouse  162 , the flow proceeds to step S 521 . If it is determined in step S 520  that the user has not single-clicked button  620  by mouse  162 , the process of step S 510  is repeated.  
         [0244]     In step S 521 , the process similar to that of step S 212  described above is performed, and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated. Then, the flow proceeds to step S 525 .  
         [0245]     In step S 525 , mail management program  177 A passes an instruction to mailer  300  to form a new mail with the edited data attached thereto. At the same time, mail management program  177 A also passes path information for specifying the location where the edition data is stored, to mailer  300 .  
         [0246]     The process in which mailer  300  determines whether an instruction to form a new mail has been received from mail management program  177 A or not is performed in step S 570 . The process of step S 570  is performed following the step S 504  described above.  
         [0247]     In step S 570 , whether an instruction to form a new mail has been received from mail management program  177 A or not is determined. If it is determined in step S 570  that an instruction to form a new mail has been received from mail management program  177 A, the flow proceeds to step S 571 . If it is determined in step S 570  that no instruction to form a new mail has been received from mail management program  177 A, the process of step S 570  is repeated.  
         [0248]     In step S 571 , mail forming unit  304  reads the edition data from temporary area  144  of storage unit  140 , based on the received path information. Mail forming unit  304  forms a new mail with the read edition data attached (in the following, also referred to as edited-data-attached new mail). The image of the thus formed new mail is shown, by way of example, as new mail image  700 A of  FIG. 14 . Then, the process of step S 572  is performed.  
         [0249]     In step S 572 , a mail formation complete notice indicating completion of mail formation is passed to mail management program  177 A.  
         [0250]     The process in which mail management program  177 A determines whether the mail formation complete notice has been received from mailer  300  or not is performed in step S 550 .  
         [0251]     In step S 550 , whether the mail formation complete notice has been received from mailer  300  or not is determined. In step  550 , if it is determined that the mail formation complete notice has been received from mailer  300 , the flow proceeds to step S 566 . If it is determined that the mail formation complete notice has not been received from mailer  300 , the process of step S 550  is repeated.  
         [0252]     The process performed in step S 566  is the same as that of step S 256  described above, and therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated. After the process of step S 566 , the flow proceeds to step S 568 .  
         [0253]     The process performed in step S 568  is the same as that of step S 258  described above, and therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated. Thereafter, the process of application program  310 A ends.  
         [0254]     After the step of S 572 , mailer  300  performs the process of step S 574 .  
         [0255]     The process performed in step S 574  is the same as that of step S 170  described above. Therefore, detailed description will not be repeated. After the process of step S 574 , the flow proceeds to step S 580 .  
         [0256]     In step S 580 , whether there is a mail transmission instruction or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user has single-clicked, by way of example, button  712  arranged on new mail image  700 A of  FIG. 14  by mouse  162  or not is determined.  
         [0257]     If it is determined in step S 580  that the user has single-clicked button  712  arranged on new mail image  700 A, the flow proceeds to step S 590 . If it is determined in step S 580  that the user has not single-clicked button  712  arranged on new mail image  700 A, the process of step S 574  is repeated.  
         [0258]     In step S 590 , the process of step S 190  described above is performed, and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated. Then, the process by mailer  300  ends.  
         [0259]     In the present embodiment, the processes of steps S 566  and S 568  may be performed not by the application program but by the mailer.  
         [0260]     Through the above-described steps, even by an OS not having “WinFS”, a file that has been attached to a received e-mail can be edited and a new mail having the edited file attached can be formed by a simple operation.  
         [0261]     The edition data attached to the edition-data-attached e-mail is automatically deleted, and therefore, hard disk capacity is not wasted. As a result, the storage area of the hard disk can effectively be utilized. Further, as the edition data is automatically deleted, it becomes unnecessary for the user to delete the edition data through troublesome manual operation.  
         [0262]     Even if the edition data is confidential and unnecessary, whitening process is performed to fully prevent recovery of the edition data, and therefore, possibility of leakage of the confidential data is minimized.  
       Third Embodiment  
       [0263]     In the first and second embodiments, the mailer has been described as Outlook Express (registered trademark). Next, the process of automatically deleting the edition data using Eudora (registered trademark) will be described.  
         [0264]     In Eudora (registered trademark), at the time when a file-attached e-mail is formed, only the path information of the file to be attached is incorporated in the e-mail. Further, in Eudora (registered trademark), when a file-attached e-mail is received, the file is automatically saved in a prescribed folder. In Eudora (registered trademark), the file to be attached is converted in accordance with the MIME format and the converted file is incorporated with the e-mail at the time when the mail is transmitted.  
         [0265]     In the present embodiment, the OS is the same as that described in the second embodiment.  
         [0266]      FIG. 19  is a block diagram representing an internal configuration of a PC  110  in accordance with the third embodiment. For easier description, a communication unit  135 , a network  150 , a mail server  160  and a recording medium  175 B are also shown in  FIG. 19 .  
         [0267]     Referring to  FIG. 19 , the configuration of PC  110  of the third embodiment differs from that of PC  110  in accordance with the first embodiment in that storage unit  140  stores a mail management program  177 B in place of mail management program  177 , and that recording medium accessing unit  170  accesses to recording medium  175 B in place of recording medium  175 . Different from recording medium  175 , recording medium  175 B stores mail management program  177 B in place of mail management program  177 .  
         [0268]     Mail management program  177 B stored in recording medium  175 B is read by the operation of control unit  112  (install operation) through recording medium accessing unit  170 , and stored in storage unit  140 .  
         [0269]     Except for this point, the configuration is the same as that of PC  110  in accordance with the first embodiment, and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated.  
         [0270]      FIG. 20  is a functional block diagram representing mutual relation among a plurality of software programs activated by control unit  112 , in accordance with the third embodiment. For easier description, storage unit  140  and temporary data storage  122  are also shown in  FIG. 20 .  
         [0271]     Referring to  FIG. 20 , the software configuration of the third embodiment is different from the software configuration of the second embodiment in that application program  310 B is used in place of application program  310 A, and that mailer  300 B is used in place of mailer  300 .  
         [0272]     Application program  310 B is different from application program  310 A in that mail management program  177 A is not incorporated as a plug-in.  
         [0273]     Mailer  300 B is different from mailer  300  in that mail management program  177 B is incorporated as a plug-in. Mail management program  177 B has a module that is incorporated in mailer  300 B and operates as a plug-in.  
         [0274]     In the present embodiment, the mailer  300 B is not limited to Eudora (registered trademark), and any mailer may be used that has a function similar to Eudora (registered trademark) described above.  
         [0275]     Mail viewing unit  303  does not issue an application activation instruction to file editing unit  311 .  
         [0276]     File deleting unit  323  deletes data stored in normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140 .  
         [0277]     Whitening unit  324  performs a whitening process that fully prevents recovery of the data deleted by file deleting unit  323 , in normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140 .  
         [0278]     Except for these points, the software configuration is the same as that of the second embodiment, and therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.  
         [0279]      FIG. 21  shows an image  800  of mailer  300 B for viewing the received mail, in accordance with the third embodiment. The received mail viewing image  800  appears as a window on display unit  80 .  
         [0280]     Referring to  FIG. 21 , received mail viewing image  800  has an image  830  showing a list of received mails, a button  822  for forming a new mail, and a button  824  for forming a return mail.  
         [0281]     While a received mail displayed on the received mail list image  830  is selected by the user using mouse  162  (hereinafter also referred to as a mail-selected state), when the user single-clicks button  824  by mouse  162 , a return mail is formed.  
         [0282]     Received mail viewing image  800  further has a button  810  for closing the window.  
         [0283]      FIG. 22  is a flow chart representing the processes performed by mailer  300 B and application program  310 B in accordance with the third embodiment.  
         [0284]      FIG. 22 (A) is a flow chart representing the process performed by mailer  300 B in accordance with the third embodiment.  FIG. 22 (B) is a flow chart representing the process performed by application program  310 B in accordance with the third embodiment.  
         [0285]     The processes performed in steps S 645 , S 650  and S 652  are executed by mail management program  177 B incorporated in mailer  300 B as a plug-in.  
         [0286]     Next, processes executed by mailer  300 B and application program  310 B of the present embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 20, 21  and  22 .  
         [0287]     Referring to  FIG. 22 , the process of step S 600  is the same as that of step S 100  described above, and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated. Next, the flow proceeds to step S 620 .  
         [0288]     When the user double-clicks that file which has been attached to a received mail and saved by mailer  300 B in a prescribed folder by mouse  162 , application program  310 B is activated.  
         [0289]      FIG. 23  shows an application program image  600 B of the activated application program  310 B. Application program image  600 B appears as a window on display unit  80 .  
         [0290]     Referring to  FIG. 23 , application program image  600 B is different from application program image  600  of  FIG. 7  in that button  620  is not arranged. In other words, mail management program  177 B is not incorporated in application program  310 B. Except for this point, the image is the same as application program image  600 , and therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.  
         [0291]     Again referring to  FIG. 22 , by application program  310 B, first, the process of step S 700  is performed.  
         [0292]     In step S 700 , a file editing process is performed. The process of step S 700  is the same as the process of step S 200  described above, and therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated. Then, the flow proceeds to step S 710 .  
         [0293]     In step S 710 , when application program  310 B is forming a new file, whether there is an instruction to save the file (hereinafter also referred to as a new save instruction) or not is determined.  
         [0294]     If it is determined in step S 710  that there is a new save instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 712 . If it is determined in step S 710  that there is not the new save instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 720 .  
         [0295]     In step S 712 , application program  310 B has the edition data that is being edited stored in normal storage area  142 . Thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S 730 , which will be described later.  
         [0296]     In step S 720 , when application program  310 B reads a file (such as the file saved by mailer  300 B in the prescribed folder as described above) stored in normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140  and is editing the read file, whether there is an instruction to save the file (hereinafter also referred to as rewriting instruction) or not is determined.  
         [0297]     If it is determined in step S 720  that there is a rewriting instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 722 . If it is determined in step S 720  that there is not a rewriting instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 730 .  
         [0298]     In step S 722 , a process of saving data in normal storage area  142  is performed. Specifically, to that area of normal storage area  142  of storage unit  140  from which the file has been read by application program  310 B, the edition data that is being edited is rewritten by application program  310 B. Thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S 730 .  
         [0299]     In step S 730 , whether there is an instruction to finish application program  310 B or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user single-clicked the button  610  on application program image  600 B of  FIG. 23  by mouse  162  or not is determined.  
         [0300]     If it is determined in step S 730  that the user has single-clicked button  610  by mouse  162 , the process by the application program is finished. If it is determined in step S 730  that the user has not single-clicked button  610  by mouse  162 , the process of step S 700  is repeated.  
         [0301]     Next, in step S 620 , whether there is an instruction to form a new mail or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user has single-clicked button  822  on received mail viewing image  800  of  FIG. 21  by mouse  162  or not is determined.  
         [0302]     If it is determined in step S 620  that the user has single-clicked button  822  by mouse  162 , the flow proceeds to step S 624 . If it is determined in step S 620  that the user has not single-clicked button  822  by mouse  162 , the flow proceeds to step S 630 , which will be described later.  
         [0303]     In step S 624 , a new mail is formed. Then, the flow proceeds to step S 625 .  
         [0304]      FIG. 24  is an image  900  representing the new mail. New mail image  900  appears as a window on display unit  80 .  
         [0305]     Referring to  FIG. 24 , new mail image  900  differs from new mail image  700 A of  FIG. 14  in that nothing is described in box  728 . Except for this point, it is the same as new mail image  700 A, and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated.  
         [0306]     Again referring to  FIG. 22 , in step S 625 , whether there is a file attachment instruction or not is determined. The file attachment instruction is issued when the user drugs-and-drops the edition data stored in step S 712  or S 722  described above in normal storage area  142  to the new mail image  900  as a window.  
         [0307]     If it is determined in step S 625  that there is a file attachment instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 626 . If it is determined in step S 625  that there is not a file attachment instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 640 .  
         [0308]     In step S 626 , an edited-data-attached e-mail is formed. By way of example, the image of the thus formed edited-data-attached e-mail corresponds to new mail image  700 A of  FIG. 14 . Then, the flow proceeds to step S 640 .  
         [0309]     If it is determined in step S 620  mentioned above that the user has not single-clicked button  822  by mouse  162 , the flow proceeds to step S 630 .  
         [0310]     In step S 630 , whether there is a return mail formation instruction or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user has single-clicked button  824  on received mail viewing image  800  by mouse  162  or not in the aforementioned mail selected state is determined.  
         [0311]     If it is determined in step S 630  that the user has single-clicked button  824  on received mail viewing image  800  by mouse  162  in the mail selected state, the flow proceeds to step S 634 . If it is determined in step S 630  that the user has not single-clicked button  824  on received mail viewing image  800  by mouse  162  in the mail selected state, the process of step S 620  is repeated.  
         [0312]     In step S 634 , a return mail is formed. Then, the flow proceeds to step S 635 .  
         [0313]      FIG. 25  is an image  900 A representing a return mail. Return mail image  900 A appears as a window on display unit  80 .  
         [0314]     Referring to  FIG. 25 , return mail image  900 A differs from return mail image  700  of  FIG. 11  in that nothing is described in display box  728 . Except for this point, it is the same as return mail image  700 , and therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.  
         [0315]     Again referring to  FIG. 22 , in step S 635 , whether there is a file attachment instruction or not is determined. The file attachment instruction is issued when the user drugs-and-drops the edition data stored in step S 712  or S 722  described above in normal storage area  142  to the return mail image  900 A as a window.  
         [0316]     If it is determined in step S 635  that there is a file attachment instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 636 . If it is determined in step S 635  that there is not a file attachment instruction, the flow proceeds to step S 640 .  
         [0317]     In step S 636 , an edited-data-attached e-mail is formed. By way of example, the image of the thus formed edited-data-attached e-mail corresponds to return mail image  700  of  FIG. 11 . Then, the flow proceeds to step S 640 .  
         [0318]     The process performed in step S 640  is the same as that of step SI  70  described above, and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated. After the process of step S 640 , the flow proceeds to step S 642 .  
         [0319]     In step S 642 , whether there is a mail transmission instruction or not is determined. Specifically, whether the user has single-clicked, by way of example, button  712  arranged on return mail image  700  of  FIG. 11  by mouse  162  or not is determined.  
         [0320]     If it is determined in S 642  that the user has single-clicked button  712  by mouse  162 , the flow proceeds to step S 644 . If it is determined in S 642  that the user has not single-clicked button  712  by mouse  162 , the process of step S 620  is repeated.  
         [0321]     The process of step S 644  is the same as that of step S 190  described above, and therefore, detailed description will not be repeated. Then, the flow proceeds to step S 645 .  
         [0322]     In step S 645 , mail management program  1   77 B analyzes the path through which the edition data attached to the mail formed in step S 626  or S 636  is stored. Then, the flow proceeds to step S 650 .  
         [0323]     In step S 650 , the edition data stored in normal storage area  142  is deleted. Specifically, mail management program  177 B instructs file deleting unit  323  to delete the edition data stored in normal storage area  142 , based on the path information analyzed in step S 645 . In response to the deletion instruction, file deleting unit  323  deletes the edition data stored in normal storage area  142 . Then, the flow proceeds to step S 652 .  
         [0324]     In step S 652 , whitening process is performed. Specifically, mail management program  177 B instructs whitening unit  324  to perform whitening, so as to fully prevent recovery of the edition data that has been deleted in step S 650  in normal storage area  142 . Whitening unit  324  performs the whitening process to fully prevent recovery of the deleted edition data, in response to the whitening instruction. Then, the process of mailer  300 B ends.  
         [0325]     In the present embodiment, the processes of steps S 650  and S 652  may be performed not by the mailer but by the application program.  
         [0326]     By the foregoing process, even by an OS not having “WinFS”, the edition data attached to the edition-data-attached e-mail is automatically deleted by the process of mailer  300 B after the edited-data-attached e-mail is transmitted, and therefore, hard disk capacity is not wasted. As a result, the storage area of the hard disk can effectively be utilized. Further, as the edition data is automatically deleted, it becomes unnecessary for the user to delete the edition data through troublesome manual operation.  
         [0327]     Even if the edition data is confidential and unnecessary, whitening process is performed to fully prevent recovery of the edition data, and therefore, possibility of leakage of the confidential data is minimized.  
         [0328]     In the present embodiment, a process is performed in which the edition data is stored in storage unit  140  that stores data in non-volatile manner. If a virtual drive is set by the OS in temporary data storage  122  that stores data in non-volatile manner and the edition data is stored not in storage unit  140  but in the virtual drive, the whitening process becomes unnecessary.  
         [0329]     Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the spirit and scope of the present invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.