Abstract:
An enchanced email system integrates office applications to track information related to the office application documents and emails within the email system, so as to monitor the work status and productivity of office work and to improve efficiency. The enhanced email system enables the creation of automatic folders amongst a group of people (e.g., team members) to manage emails, forms, and office application documents related to specific projects or assignments, thus making it easier to manage and locate emails and office application documents within the email system. The enhanced email system also allows only the latest email and office application documents generated from “reply” or “forward” to remain in the “inbox” and the related “automatic folder”, the prior version emails and office application documents are either moved to a separate folder or deleted from the individual&#39;s email account, and therefore, maintains a neat and easy navigable mailbox.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to the field of email systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to the functions of integrated office applications, automatic email folders, and automatic removal of old version emails and office application documents within an email system. 
         [0002]    With advances in integrated circuits, microprocessors, networking and communication technologies, an increasing number of devices, in particular, digital computing devices, are being interconnected with one another. The increased interconnectivity of computing devices have led to wide spread adoption of applications “connecting” a large number of users/organizations together, such as the World Wide Web and email systems. 
         [0003]    To many users, email, whether it is provided through a program (such as Lotus Notes, available from IBM of Armonk, N.Y.) or a service (such as Yahoo, available from Yahoo Corporation, Sunnyvale, Calif.), has become a fundamental medium of communication just like the telephone. Even for casual users, it is not unusual to have hundreds if not thousands of emails accumulated in their “inboxes”, “sent folders” or other subject specific “folders”. As those skilled in the art would appreciate, “inboxes”, “folders”, and “sent folders” are typically logical views of the email records being held, i.e. undeleted. 
         [0004]    The largest drawback of the prior art email programs is that they do not systematically integrate office applications and their functions into the email system, thus it&#39;s not leveraging the email system to its fullest potential. 
         [0005]    For example, some systems integrate email functionality to a document editor. A limitation of the prior inventions is that it does not provide a centralized location to display documents at various stages of their lifecycle. Documents at different stages of completion are scattered in different computers and email accounts. Also, it does not have a built-in tracking mechanism for tracking the life cycle of a document. The structure of the prior inventions also makes it unpractical to apply a tracking mechanism. 
         [0006]    Unlike a production line whereby an employee&#39;s productivity is tracked and monitored by the number of accepted and rejected units he produces in a certain period of time, currently there are literally no or limited tracking mechanisms for office work or white-collar work, such as creating and updating work papers, reports and documents. 
         [0007]    Concern with the productivity of the white-collar work force has intensified over recent decades. Industries staffed principally by white-collar employees have expanded more rapidly than others. The expansion of white-collar work has consistently raised questions of how productive white-collar workers are. In turn, such questions have generated efforts to measure the productivity of white-collar workers. 
         [0008]    Some common problems with office work are that there are no statistical reports to support what documents each professional has worked on during a time frame. In addition, work delays from the management and/or staff are untracked, unmonitored and unaddressed on a timely basis. Poor planning work is also not identified because the planning is not being tracked to ensure that it&#39;s well designed and documented. Due to a lack of tracking, bottlenecks are not identified and resolved in a timely fashion, which ultimately affects the overall quality of the office work; bottlenecks or potential problems of an office document flow are difficult to identify because of the lack of real time monitoring mechanisms. Such bottlenecks and potential problems ultimately and directly affect the quality and efficiency of the office operations, and result in waste of human resources and money. Without reliable data and statistics, budgeted hours are not commensurate with the amount of work performed. Without supporting data and statistics, low productivity of professionals is not identified. Lack of tracking also affects the employees&#39; incentive to perform due to factors out of their control in the entire office work process, especially when they have been scapegoats for someone else&#39;s mistakes, false-decisions, and/or laziness, etc. There is normally no or limited individual statistics for evaluators to rely on when evaluating office employees and managers. On the other hand, the office employees/professionals and managers can&#39;t utilize the statistics to prove that they are producing more quality work than their peers and thus deserve better recognition, and they can&#39;t use such statistics to defend themselves in cases where they are not the causes for the bottlenecks and should not be held responsible. There is no timely and accurate feedback on all or key documents that a professional has completed. An annual evaluation is normally based entirely on an evaluator&#39;s memory and judgment, and not on facts and statistics, especially not on the number of documents and the quality of documents a professional works on. An annual evaluation is normally given by a direct supervisor, which may result in a more biased appraisal as compared to evaluations given by a group of people that the professional works with. 
         [0009]    The traditional concept of email systems as messaging systems is not compatible with the fast growing information transfer, tracking, and management needs of the 21st century. 
         [0010]    Prior art email programs/services typically offer manual folder creation. Meaning, each user has to create a folder in his email account by clicking folder creation, typing in a folder name, and dragging all related emails into that folder. And this procedure is repeated for creating other folders in his email account. Thus, there is redundant work among team members in creating the similar folder and there is no standardization for the same folder. For example, a team is working on Project A, but each team member could create a different folder name in his email account. Team member  1  may called it “Project A”, while team member  2  may called it “A Project” and team member  3  may call it “Project A Folder”. This makes it difficult to centralize all related emails at the server level if necessary. Furthermore, each team member has to go through the hassle of creating the folder and dragging all related emails to the folder. 
         [0011]    In addition, some automatic electronic message filing systems suggests the filing of emails in suggested filing folders, which cause the problem that an user may not open and react to emails in the suggested folders in a timely fashion as new emails are distributed in the respective suggested folder, rather than in a centralized folder such as an inbox. In other words, some emails (e.g., unread emails) may be buried in the user&#39;s suggested folders without timely attention. Also, these systems do not address the office application documents in the context of an automatic folder in an email system, which is a new function or invention of the present art. 
         [0012]    Conventional email programs/services allow all version emails to reach and reside in an individual&#39;s email account. Given the fact that, each individual receives many emails a day (especially for office email systems), those emails not only fill up his inbox, making it difficult to locate the latest version of the email, but also create the hassle of physically deleting all old version emails. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    It is therefore a principal object and advantage of the present invention to provide a system and method for integrating office application documents with email correspondence. 
         [0014]    It is a further object and advantage of the present invention to provide a system and method for automatic foldering of emails. 
         [0015]    It is an additional object and advantage of the present invention to provide a system and method for version control of communications and documents. 
         [0016]    In accordance with the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention provides an enhance email system including the integration of office application documents directly into the email user interface. The present invention also provides for automatic foldering of emails universally throughout the email system and network. The present invention further controls the versions of communication and documents transmitted throughout the system. 
         [0017]    A significant advantage of the enhanced email program comes from the integration of the office applications into the email system, for example, the incorporation of text editing functions, database functions, spreadsheet functions, sophisticated editor functions, graphical functions, presentation functions, project management functions, etc., into the email system. 
         [0018]    The built-in tracking function enables the tracking of office documents created, transferred, reviewed, modified, approved, etc. The tracking and evaluating features of the enhanced email system helps to identify productive employees from less productive ones, and enables the management to allocate compensation accordingly, thus encouraging productivity and efficiency. Average productivity figures of each department or job type can be produced to provide a benchmark in measuring the productivity of each employee. It induces every professional, including new employees and those working for the company for many years, to pay attention to their productivity and make sure that they consistently meet or exceed requirements. 
         [0019]    Also, the on-time, accurate feedback given by a group of people through the utilization of the enhanced email system&#39;s tracking and reporting features, more closely reflects a professional&#39;s strengths and weaknesses, thus, helping him to further improve himself and opening up better advancement opportunities. Overall, it increases the moral of the white-collar workforce, which in turn, produces better quality work. 
         [0020]    The enhanced email system enables the board of directors and the company to better monitor the work status and productivity of professionals and management on a timely basis; as a result, potential problems or bottlenecks are swiftly identified, and efficiency of office work is dramatically improved. Data collected can also be used to perform analyses and studies, which in turn, can be used to improve office work processes, and ultimately further improve work efficiency and effectiveness. 
         [0021]    The enhanced email program with office application functions also enables the centralized control over data/information flow. This is not only true for office email systems, such as Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, GroupWise, Eudora, etc, but also for email systems by services companies, such as Yahoo, Hotmail, Google, AOL, etc. It provides an easy channel to turn an office application fat client into a thin client, eliminates pirating issues, and provides a new avenue for service companies to generate revenue. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that office applications can also be integrated into other computer programs in addition to email systems. 
         [0022]    The enhanced email program/service is provided to facilitate the provision of an automatic folder creation function amongst a group of people. The idea is that a team member can take the initiative of creating an automatic folder, and the remaining team members can add such automatic folder in their email accounts simply by accepting the automatic creation of the automatic folder. The emails and office application documents associated with the automatic folder are automatically placed in both the automatic folder and the inbox, and the future emails and office application documents associated with the automatic folder are automatically displayed in both the automatic folder and the inbox. Clearly, the present invention makes it easier for users to manage and locate emails and office application documents in the email system, provides neat email accounts, and standardizes folders across a group of users to enable them to better manage their tasks. 
         [0023]    The enhanced email program also enables automatic removal of old version emails from an in-box or automatic folder. These old version emails and office application documents can be either opened or new (unopened). Once the email system determines that a new version is received, the system will remove the old ones either permanently or to a separate folder depending on the user&#39;s configuration. The automation can be triggered with or without user interaction. As a result, the present art maintains a neat email account, eliminates the manual deletion of old version emails, makes it easier for finding the latest version email, and possibly reduces the storage space. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0024]    The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0025]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram depicting a computer system in which the present method, system and program may be implemented. 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram depicting a distributed network system for facilitating distribution of electronic messages and office application files between a sender and a recipient. 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram depicting major components in computer memory for facilitating the office application functions. 
           [0028]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting different components of a computer system according to the present invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 5  is a high-level logic flowchart depicting a process and program for creating sending, and tracking an office application file within an email system at the email system mailbox level. 
           [0030]      FIG. 6  is a high-level logic flowchart depicting a process and program for creating, replicating and tracking an office application file within an email system at the Workspace level. 
           [0031]      FIG. 7  is a high-level logic flowchart depicting a process and program for opening, editing, sending, and tracking an office application file within an email system at the email system mailbox level. 
           [0032]      FIG. 8  is a high-level logic flowchart depicting a process and program for opening, editing, replicating, and tracking an office application file within an email system at the Workspace level. 
           [0033]      FIG. 9  is a high-level logic flowchart illustrating a process and program for generating various reports from the Tracking Database(s). 
           [0034]      FIG. 10  is a high-level logic flowchart illustrating a process and program for the automatic loading of office application programs within an email system. 
           [0035]      FIG. 11  is a high-level logic flowchart illustrating a process and program for creating and sending automatic folder configurations in an email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0036]      FIG. 12  is a high-level logic flowchart illustrating a process and program for accepting an automatic folder in an email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0037]      FIG. 13  is an exemplary table for MIME instructions of an email with automatic folder feature. 
           [0038]      FIG. 14  is a high-level logic flowchart illustrating a process and program for Email Thread Control without user interaction according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0039]      FIG. 15  is a high-level logic flowchart illustrating a process and program for Email Thread Control with user interaction according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0040]      FIG. 16  is an illustration of an enhanced email system that may be presented to a user according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0041]      FIG. 17  is an illustration of selecting the “Word” Application within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0042]      FIG. 18  is an illustration of composing a “Word” document within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0043]      FIG. 19  is an illustration of composing a Mail Merge Master file within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0044]      FIG. 20  is an illustration of creating a spreadsheet document within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0045]      FIG. 21  is an illustration of composing a spreadsheet document with the email toolbar hidden to provide a maximized view according one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0046]      FIG. 22  is an illustration of attributes, such as Workflow, Properties, and Notes, of a spreadsheet document within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0047]      FIG. 23  is an illustration of attributes, such as Approval, Evaluation, and Reports, of a spreadsheet document within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0048]      FIG. 24  is an illustration of composing a slide or presentation document within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0049]      FIG. 25  is an illustration of composing a flowchart document within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0050]      FIG. 26  is an illustration of composing a graphic document within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0051]      FIG. 27  is an illustration of composing a project document within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0052]      FIG. 28  is an illustration of receiving office application documents in a user&#39;s email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0053]      FIG. 29  is an illustration of creating an office application document in the email system workspace. 
           [0054]      FIG. 30  is an illustration of a display of office application documents in the email system workspace. 
           [0055]      FIG. 31  is an illustration of sample tracking reports according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0056]      FIG. 32  is an illustration of creating office application documents in Yahoo Email System. 
           [0057]      FIG. 33  is an illustration of creating an automatic folder within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0058]      FIG. 34  is an illustration of creating an automatic folder via a pop-up window within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0059]      FIG. 35  is an illustration of creating an automatic folder via the Auto-Folder Text Box in the Email Header according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0060]      FIG. 36  is an illustration of a recipient&#39;s inbox displaying received emails, including an exemplary one with automatic folder configurations, according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0061]      FIG. 37  is an illustration of the automatic creation of an Automatic Folder in a recipient&#39;s email box according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0062]      FIG. 38  is an illustration of displaying all incoming emails in a user&#39;s inbox, including those with automatic folder configurations, according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0063]      FIG. 39  is an illustration of the email display and thread control in both a user&#39;s inbox and an automatic folder according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0064]    In the following description, various aspects of the present invention will be described. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some or all aspects of the present invention. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the present invention. 
         [0065]    Parts of the description will be presented in terms of operations performed by a processor based device, using terms such as data, tables, requesting, selecting, supplementing, displaying, and the like, consistent with the manner commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. As well understood by those skilled in the art, the quantities take the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, and otherwise manipulated through mechanical and electrical components of the processor based device; and the term processor includes microprocessors, micro-controllers, digital signal processors, and the like, that are standalone, adjunct or embedded. 
         [0066]    Various operations will be described as multiple discrete steps in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention; however, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation. Further, the description repeatedly uses the phrase “in one embodiment”, which ordinarily does not refer to the same embodiment, although it may. 
         [0067]    Referring to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, there is seen in  FIG. 1  an embodiment of a system through which the present method, system, and program may be implemented. The present invention may be executed in a variety of systems, including a variety of computing systems and electronic devices. 
         [0068]    Computer system  100  includes Random Access Memory (RAM)  101  and Read Only Memory (ROM)  110 , a processing unit (CPU)  111 , and a system Bus  112  or other communication device for communicating information within computer system  100 . A number of program modules may be stored in mass storage device  113  and RAM  101 , said RAM  101  includes an operating system  102 , one or more Email Client Applications  103 , as well as Other Application Programs  104 . The Email System  103  includes an Email Program  109 , such as Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, Yahoo Mail, AOL, and the like, as well as the components of present invention, such as Office Application Facility  105 , Report Facility  106 , Automatic Folder Component  107 , and Thread Control Component  108 . 
         [0069]    CPU  111  may be a general-purpose processor that, during normal operation, processes data under the control of operating system and application software accessible from a dynamic storage device, RAM  101 , and a static storage device, ROM  110 . 
         [0070]    Bus  112  preferably includes low latency and high latency paths that are connected by bridges and adapters and controlled within computer system  100  by multiple bus controllers. 
         [0071]    The present invention may be provided on a machine-readable medium that includes any medium participates in providing instructions to processing unit  111  or other components of computer system  100  for execution. 
         [0072]    A machine-readable medium may take any form including, but not limited to, volatile media, transmission media, and non-volatile media. Volatile media include dynamic memory such as RAM  101 . Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wire or fiber optics, including the wires that comprise Bus  112 . 
         [0073]    The computer system  100  further includes Mass Storage Device  113  and Communication Interfaces  114 . Mass Storage Device  113  is an example of a non-volatile medium, which is depicted as an internal component of computer system  100 , but one should understand that it could also be an external device. 
         [0074]    Communication interfaces  114  provide a two-way data communications connected to Network Link  119  that may be connected, for example, to a Network  120 , such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or directly to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). In particular, Network Link  119  may provide wired and/or wireless network communication to one or more networks. 
         [0075]    In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer system  100 , or portions thereof, may be stored and transferred from a Remote Server  121 . Data from computer system  100  may be stored or tracked on such a Remote Server  121  and there can be more than one such server. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communication link between the computers may be used. 
         [0076]    The computer system  100  further includes multiple peripheral components that facilitate communication. These peripheral components are connected to multiple controllers, adaptors, and extension slots that are connected to one of the multiple levels of Bus  112 . In this exemplary diagram, a Display Device  115  is connectively enabled on Bus  112  for providing visual, tactile or other graphical representation formats. A mouse  118  is connectively enabled on Bus  112  for controlling the location of a pointer within Display Device  115 . A Keyboard  116  is connectively enabled on Bus  112  as an interface for user inputs to computer system  100 . An Audio Device  117  is connectively enabled on Bus  112  for controlling audio inputs and outputs. In alternative embodiments of the present invention, additional input and output peripheral components may be added. 
         [0077]    Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. In addition to the Display Device  115 , computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, or the like. 
         [0078]    The computer system  100  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a Remote Computer  122 . The Remote Computer  122  may be a router, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer system  100 . 
         [0079]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted in  FIG. 1  may vary. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the depicted example is not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention. 
         [0080]    With reference to  FIG. 2 , therein is presented a block diagram depicting a distributed network system for facilitating distribution of electronic messages and office application documents between a sender and a recipient within email system(s) for facilitating one embodiment of the present invention. Distributed network system  200  is a network of computers in one embodiment of the invention that may be implemented. It will be understood that the present invention may be implemented in other embodiment of systems enabled to communicate with each other via connections. 
         [0081]    The distributed network system  200  contains network  201 , which is the medium used to provide communication links between various devices and computers connected together within the distributed network system  200 . Network  201  may include permanent connections such as wire or fiber optics cables, temporary connections made through phone lines, and wireless transmission connections. 
         [0082]    In the exemplary system, Email or Communication Servers  204  and  205  are connected to network  201 . Email or Communication Servers  204  and  205  may facilitate electronic messaging systems through which Sender&#39;s Computer  202  and Recipient&#39;s Computer  203  communicate through messaging applications. For purposes of the present description of the Electronic Mail System, it will be noted that such Email System generally includes a User Database (UDB) which may be queried by a user or a system to identify the users, such as possible electronic mail recipients, connected to the Email System and the addresses or locations of such users on the Email System. Such UDBs  209  and  210  may be residing on Email Servers  204  and  205 . 
         [0083]    In addition, client system, herein depicted as Sender&#39;s Computer  202  and Recipient&#39;s Computer  203 , are connected to network  201 , and provide a user interface through input and output devices. 
         [0084]    The distributed network system  200  further includes Sender&#39;s Office Application Server  206 , Recipient&#39;s Office Application Server  207 , and Tracking Server  208  that are connected to network  201  whereby Sender&#39;s Office Application Server  206  and Recipient&#39;s Office Application Server  207  supply office application functions to the Sender&#39;s Computer  202  and Recipient&#39;s Computer  203  through the Office Application Facility  105  depicted in  FIG. 1 . The Tracking Server  208  stores data from the Sender&#39;s Computer  202  and Recipient&#39;s Computer  203 , facilitates the generation of tracking reports, and transmits the results to Email Servers  204  and  205 , and the end users via network  201 . The Tracking Database (TDB)  211  may reside on Tracking Server  208 . 
         [0085]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the Office Application Servers  206  and  207 , and Tracking Server  208  can be the same or different machines, and they can be remote or non-remote. 
         [0086]    As one embodiment of the present invention, Office Application Document and Automatic Folder configurations may be included in the MIME instructions of an Email and Office Application Document File when it&#39;s sent from Sender&#39;s Computer  202  via one or both of Email or Communication Servers  204  and  205 , to Recipient&#39;s Computer  203 . More detail will be elaborated in  FIG. 12  below. 
         [0087]    The concept can be extended to multiple PCs that are connected through a network. It should be recognized by those skilled in the art that PCs and Email Servers can be connected directly before connecting to a network for communication with other PCs and Email Servers. 
         [0088]    According to one embodiment of the invention, the system may comprise of one or more designated Universal Clock Servers or other machines to obtain reliable timestamps on project messages and/or transactions, and to account for discrepancies that may exist among the individual system clocks of users. 
         [0089]    Also, according to one embodiment of the invention, security measures may be implemented to ensure that the confidentiality and integrity of transmitted project messages are maintained. Additional security functionality may be provided to enable the authentication of project commands or messages. In the system, users may be issued certificates such that all messages that have been authored by a user will be digitally signed with the system-generated certificate. 
         [0090]    Referring to  FIG. 3  therein is presented an exemplary diagrammatic representation of different components in computer memory and their connectivity according to the present invention. As represented in  FIG. 3 , Computer Memory  300  includes a plurality of Application Programs, such as Word Application  307 , Spreadsheet Application  308 , Flowchart Application  309 , Slide or Presentation Application  310 , Project Scheduling Application  311 , Graphics Application  312 , PDF Application  313 , Image Application  314 , Other Office Applications  315 , and one or more Electronic Mail System  301 . 
         [0091]    The Email System  301  contains Email Program  302 , such as Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail, and the like. The structure, capabilities, functions and operations of such Electronic Mail Systems are generally well know to those skilled in the relevant arts and are fully described in the documentation available from manufacturers of such Electronic Mail Systems and will not be described in further detail herein. 
         [0092]    The Email System  301  further comprises present invention components, namely, Office Application Facility  303 , Report Facility  304 , Automatic Folder Component  305 , and Thread Control Component  306 . It will be understood that there is no implied boundary between the Email Program  302  and each of the component of the present invention. They could be implemented as integral parts of an Email Program  302 . All these components and the Email System  302  represent a new concept of a Super Email System whereby various special functions are added, such as providing office application functions within the Email System via Office Application Facility  303 , tracking Office Application Documents and Emails, creating automatic folders for easy identification of emails, as well as managing Email versions. It will be appreciated that these special functions could be independent of one another, and one could implement a subset of these functions, rather than all of them. 
         [0093]    The Office Application Facility  303  of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is an object including computer-executable instructions and data for executing those instructions. It serves as a conduit between an Email Client and an Office Application as mentioned above, such that the functionality of an Office Application is provided within the Graphical User Interface of the Email Client, while the data necessary to transmit, edit and track an Office Application Document File is Provided. A number of logical components are involved in implementing the Office Application Facility  303  within an Email System. These components can be configured to follow the client/server model, which is well known to those skilled in the computer art. 
         [0094]    Also, Tracking and Report Facility  304  acts as a conduit between an Email Client and a Tracking System. It communicates with Office Application Facility  303  and email program  302  to obtain tracking data and transfer it to a Tracking Server as depicted at  208  on  FIG. 2  above. It enables the display of report results on a Report User Interface of the Email Client or on an online report system. 
         [0095]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of the major components utilized by an exemplary embodiment of the present invention to provide the functionality of an office application within an email system. 
         [0096]    The office application facility concept is more efficient than other functionality integration models because the office application facility embeds a small user interface object into the email system, rather than a large object embodying an entire office application program. It should be noted that although this is the preferred way of integration, the present invention does not exclude the method of embedding an entire office application program into an email system. 
         [0097]    Generally, the Email System  400  has its own user interface called the Email System User Interface (EUSI)  403 . The user operates the email system  400  by interacting with the EUSI  403 , to generate and/or send an Email Message  405 . An Office Application Facility  401  supplies the functionality of an Office Application  402  to the Email System  400  and ESUI  403 . The Office Application Facility  401  has its own user interface called Office Application User Interface (OAUI)  404 . The OAUI  404  provides any type of command bar controls (e.g., toolbars, menus, buttons, etc) needed to integrate the functionality of an Office Application  402 . Once the Office Application Facility  401  is invoked, the OAUI  404  will be accessible to the user and provides the means by which the functionality of the office application is invoked. When the user presses “send”, the Office Application Document  407  can be made as the attachment of an Email Message  405  that will be displayed in the recipient&#39;s email box as an Office Application Document according to one embodiment of the present invention (please refer to  FIG. 21  for an exemplary display when a user receives a Spreadsheet document). It should be noted that an office application could be a word processor, a spreadsheet program, a slide/presentation program, a flowchart program, a graphics program, a project program, a PDF program and any other matter capable of being reproduced by a computer. 
         [0098]    The Email Message  405  also includes the Envelope Data  406  that contains information used by the email system  400  to transmit the email message and is also referred to as the message address data or email header. The Envelope Data  406  may include addressee data, subject data, carbon copy recipient data, blind copy recipient data, and other information pertaining to the transmission and delivery of the email message. 
         [0099]    Another portion of the Email Message  405  is the Message/Email Body  408  that is accompanying the Office Application Document  407 . The Message/Email Body  408  may be accessible to the recipient by clicking the “Notes” button on the email tool bar in an enhanced Email System according to one embodiment of the present invention (please refer to  FIG. 23  for more detail about the “Notes” button). 
         [0100]    The Email Message  405  also comprises a component called “Attributes”  410 , which includes information such as workflow, properties, rule set, approval, evaluation, and reports, etc. This is, in part, the tracking data associated with an office document file that is recorded throughout its life cycle. Please refer to  FIG. 22  and  FIG. 23  for more detail about such attributes. 
         [0101]    The Email Message  405  actually depicts a new concept of “Office Application Document (OAD) Email”, showing the key components of such an OAD email as illustrated above. A traditional email does not have the attributes component, and its attachment(s) is shown as an attachment(s) in the recipient&#39;s mailbox. 
         [0102]    It should be pointed out that for an email system that does not support the integration of office applications, Email Message  405  would reach such email system like a normal/traditional email message, whereby the office document file is shown as an attachment, the text message is shown in the message body as the message content, and the attributes portion is ignored by such email system. This eliminates the communication barriers between an enhanced super email system and a traditional email system that does not support the integration of office applications and the tracking functions. 
         [0103]    Another alternative is that the OAD email may include a link to a location that enables the recipient whose email system does not support the integration of the office applications to download an office application integration module. 
         [0104]    The email or OAD email may be stored to a Message/Document Data File  411 . As will be clear to those skilled in the art, the Message/Document Data File  411  may be stored in either volatile memory (e.g., RAM  101  in  FIG. 1 ), or a remote server (e.g.,  121  in  FIG. 1 ), or non-volatile memory (e.g., Mass Storage Device  111  in  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0105]    The arrows between the components depicted in  FIG. 4  indicate the flow of data and function calls between each of the components. 
         [0106]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the office applications can be any application program or program module capable of producing a document. Document is used in this description to mean any item or collection of items that can be reproduced by a computer. In an exemplary embodiment, a document can be any item or collection of items that can be represented in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). The email or OAD email can be saved in a universal readable format, e.g., HTML, and the email or OAD email can be opened and read by anyone with a browser or other application program capable of viewing the universal format. As a result, even recipients without an office application compatible to that of the sender can view the document. Similarly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the enhancement of the present invention to the email system can be any email system, such as Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, and AOL, etc. 
         [0107]    Now referring to  FIG. 5 , therein is presented a high-level logic flowchart depicting an exemplary process and program for creating, sending and tracking an Office Application Document within an Email System at the Email Level. The process starts at step  500  and thereafter proceeds to step  501 , whereby a sender selects his mailbox to create an OAD Email like the one  405  illustrated on  FIG. 4  above. 
         [0108]    The sender then presses Office Application Facility button (e.g., “Word”, “Spreadsheet”, “Slide”, etc) as depicted at step  502 . Next, the Office Application Facility is invoked and displays Office Application User Interface (OAUI) as shown at step  503 . The sender then composes an OAD Email at step  504 . The sender proceeds to step  505  whereby the initial parameters of the email file are set, such as workflow, due date, rule set, recipient address, etc., if applicable as shown on Attribute  409  of  FIG. 4 . The user then presses the “Send” button and triggers the email system to send the file as depicted at step  506 . The Email System adds the document extension name to the end of the email subject title to differentiate such OAD Email from ordinary emails as indicated at step  509 . It will be noted although this is the preferred way of adding document extension name; there are other ways of doing so without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
         [0109]    The file then goes through several Email Agents, such as Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) and Mail Deliver Agent (MDA), etc., to reach an Email Server. Next, information related to the initial parameters, sending time/date, is logged in the Tracking Database(s) as depicted at step  507 . The tracking database(s) is depicted at  211  of  FIG. 2 . The logged data  508  will go through another process, which will be elaborated in  FIG. 9  below. At the same time, the Email Server transfers the OAD Email to the recipient&#39;s Email Inbox as shown at step  510 , and the process ends at step  511 . 
         [0110]    This process and program described is more suitable for two or more people whereby there is only one person at a time making changes to the Office Application Document within the Integrated Email System, and there is no version conflict. If there are multiple people who need to modify the Office Application Document at the same time, then creating the Office Application Document on the Email System Workspace is highly recommended. This process and program that will be elaborated next can resolve version conflict issues by utilizing the replication technique. 
         [0111]    With reference to  FIG. 6 , therein is presented a high-level logic flowchart depicting an exemplary process and program for creating, replicating and tracking an Office Application Document within an Email System at the Workspace level. As indicated, the process starts at step  600  and thereafter proceeds to step  601 , which depicts selecting a Workspace to create an Office Application Document within an Email System (please refer to  FIG. 29  and  FIG. 30  for more detail). 
         [0112]    The user then presses Office Application Facility button (e.g., “Word”, “Spreadsheet”, “Slide”, etc) to invoke the respective Office Application Facility as depicted at step  602 . Then, Office Application Facility asks for Office Application User Interface (OAUI) and displays it within the Email System at step  603 . Next, the user composes an Office Application Document as shown at step  604 . The user then proceeds to step  605  whereby the initial parameters of the Office Application Document are set, such as workflow, due date, rule set, recipient addresses, etc., if applicable as indicated at  409  of  FIG. 4 . The user then saves the document on his Workspace as shown at step  606 . 
         [0113]    To allow team members making changes to the document, the user then replicates the saved local copy to a server as shown at step  607 . Next, information related to the initial parameters, save/replication/sending time and date, etc., is logged in the Tracking Database(s) as depicted at step  608 . The logged data  609  will go through another process, which will be elaborated in  FIG. 9  below. At the same time, the Email Server sends the Office Application Document Link in an email to the recipients&#39; inboxes at step  610 , and the process ends at  611 . 
         [0114]    It will be noted that the initiator may have the discretion as to when to allow others to work on the same Office Application Document. Basically, if he has not completed the document, he can save it on his workspace as a local copy for further modification. Once he enters the recipients&#39; addresses in the email header and replicates the document to the server, the Office Application Document Link will be automatically sent to the recipients&#39; mailboxes to allow them to simply click the link to replicate the document to their respective Office Application Workspace for further actions. This will be explained more in  FIG. 8  below. Users may view messages associated with the Office Application Document Link Email in either the Email Body or in a Pop-up Window by clicking the “Notes” button on the Email Tool Bar (refer to  FIG. 23  for an exemplary display of the “Notes” button). 
         [0115]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that an OAD can be created by importing an external OAD to the OAUI of the email system both at the Email Level and the Workspace Level. Also, an OAD can be created by pasting copied OAD data to the editing area of the OAUI within the email system at both the Email Level and the Workspace Level. It will be noted that an OAD created within an email system can be exported or copied and pasted as an external OAD outside of the email system. 
         [0116]    Now referring to  FIG. 7 , therein is presented a high-level logic flowchart depicting an exemplary process and program for opening, editing, sending and tracking an Office Application Document Email File within an Email System at the Email level. As indicated, the process starts at step  700  and thereafter proceeds to step  701 , whereby a recipient opens a new email. Step  702  indicates a determination whether the new email is an OAD Email. If it&#39;s not, then no special steps are performed and the email is opened as an ordinary email with email header and email contents in the email body displayed, and the user gets to do whatever he need to do. 
         [0117]    If the new email is an OAD Email, then a determination of the office application document type is made as depicted at step  703 . And the process continues to step  704  whereby the determined Office Application is launched. The Office Application Facility is invoked and asks for Office Application User Interface (OAUI) as indicated at step  705 . Then, the Office Application Document is displayed on OAUI within the Email System as shown at step  706 . Next, the user edits the document and its attributes, such as workflow, rule set, approval, evaluation, etc., if applicable as depicted at step  707 . 
         [0118]    The user then presses the “Send” button, which triggers the Email System to send out the edited file at step  708 . Information related to the changes in workflow and other attributes, modification date/time, file size, etc., is updated to the Tracking Database(s) as indicated at step  709 . The logged data  710  will go through another process, which will be elaborated in  FIG. 9  below. At the same time, the Email System transmits the modified OAD Email to the recipient&#39;s email inbox at step  711  and the process ends at step  712 . 
         [0119]    With reference now to  FIG. 8 , therein is depicted a high-level logic flowchart illustrating an exemplary process and program for opening, editing, sending and tracking an Office Application Document within an Email System at the Workspace level. As indicated, the process starts at step  800  and thereafter proceeds to step  801  whereby a recipient clicks an OAD Link in an email he receives. Step  802  indicates a determination of the Office Application Document type, such as Word Processor, Spreadsheet, or PDF, etc. Next, the process continues to step  803  whereby the determined Office Application is launched. The Office Application Facility is invoked and asks for Office Application User Interface (OAUI) as indicated at step  804 . The user selects a Workspace to replicate the Office Application Document as shown at step  805  and then proceeds to replicate the Office Application Document to the Workspace at step  806 . 
         [0120]    Next, the user clicks the Office Application Document to open it as indicated at step  807  and the Office Application Document is displayed on OAUI within the Email System as depicted at step  808 . Then, the user edits the local copy of the Office Application Document and its attributes, such as workflow, rule set, approval, evaluation, etc., if applicable as depicted at step  809 . The user replicates the Office Application Document and its associated attributes back to Email Server as indicated at step  810 . Next, step  811  depicts updating information related to the changes in workflow and other attributes, modification date/time, file size, etc to the Tracking Database(s). The logged data  812  will go through another process, which will be elaborated in  FIG. 9  below. At the same time, the Email Server sends the OA Document Link to the recipients&#39; email inboxes at depicted at step  813 . It will be noted that step  813  may be optional if the same group of people are involved because they may already have replicated the Office Application Document that the initiator previously notified them via the Office Application Link email. Instead of receiving such Link Notification Emails each time when the document was edited and replicated to the Email Server, the system can be configured to stop such tedious notifications and allow a recipient to replicate the server copy to his local copy before making any changes, and replicate the local copy to the server after making changes. As indicated, the process ends at step  814 . 
         [0121]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that office application functions also work under the context of integrated collaborative spaces within an email system. Integrated collaborative spaces allow a user to create a collaborative project folder, which may include a project calendar, file folder, participants&#39; list, and task folder, and invite other users to participate in the project. 
         [0122]    Also, it will be noted that the enhanced Email System allows a user to “copy” and “paste”, or “drag” and “release” any Office Application Document located in either the Mailbox or Workspace to a Document Database in the Email System as an attachment. 
         [0123]    Referring now to  FIG. 9 , therein is presented a high-level logic flowchart illustrating an exemplary process and program for generating various reports from the Tracking Database(s). As indicated, the exemplary process starts at  900  to generate reports, which is continuation of the step  508  of  FIG. 5 , step  609  of  FIG. 6 , step  710  of  FIG. 7 , and step  812  of  FIG. 8 . At Step  901 , a determination is made as to whether the user wants to obtain pre-configured reports. If special or customized reports are needed, rather than the pre-configured reports, the process then proceeds to step  902  whereby queries are created for the new reports. Next, parameters are configured for the new reports as represented at step  903 . This is then followed by designing the report format as shown at step  904 . Next, a desired report is selected to be generated as depicted at step  905 . 
         [0124]    On the other hand, if pre-configured reports are needed, the process goes directly to step  905  from the decision step  901 . At step  905 , a desired report is selected and that leads to step  906 , whereby the system reads the Tracking Database(s) to obtain data. The system then runs the report parameter program as indicated at step  907  to obtain the report results. At step  908 , the desired report is generated and displayed on the screen. The user has the option of printing the report as depicted at step  909  by the dash box lines. Finally, the process ends at step  910 . 
         [0125]    Now referring to  FIG. 10 , therein is presented a high-level logic flowchart illustrating an exemplary process and program for the automatic loading of Office Application Programs within an Integrated Email System. As depicted, the process starts at  1000  and thereafter proceeds to  1001  whereby the Email System reads the extension name of the Office Application Document. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the extension name may be added after the email subject title, which may be hidden to the user. After determining the document type, the system compares the document extension name to the Application Name Table as shown at step  1002 . A determination is made as to whether the extension name matches a supported application in the table at step  1003 . 
         [0126]    If no match is found by the System, then the Office Application Document will be displayed in the email as an attachment as shown at step  1004 . An Error Message appears on the Screen when the user clicks to open it at step  1005  because his computer system doesn&#39;t recognize the document. As indicated, the sub-process ends at step  1009 . 
         [0127]    On the other hand, if a match is found, another determination is made as to whether the recipient&#39;s email system supports Office Application Integration as indicated at step  1006 . If the answer is yes, the Office Application is activated at step  1007  and the OAUI is activated at step  1008 . Next, when the Office Application Document is clicked, the system immediately opens up the document on OAUI as shown at step  1009 , and after which the sub-process ends at  1012 . The pre-loading of the application reduces the time required to open up an Office Application Document in an Integrated Email System. 
         [0128]    If the email system doesn&#39;t support Office Application Integration, the document will be displayed as an attachment as indicated at step  1010 . Next, the document will be opened externally (outside the email system) in the identified Office Application System. Finally, the sub-process ends at  1012 . 
         [0129]    With reference to  FIG. 11 , therein is presented a high-level logic flowchart illustrating an exemplary process and program for creating and sending an Automatic Folder in an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated, the process starts at step  1100  and thereafter proceeds to  1101  whereby a user creates or selects an Automatic Folder.  FIG. 33  to  FIG. 35  will elaborate more about how to create or select an Automatic Folder. 
         [0130]    Going back to step  1101 , the next step is to set parameters, such as To, From, CC, BCC, etc, which is depicted at step  1102 . It will be noted that step  1102  may be performed before step  1101  in some cases as illustrated in  FIG. 33  below. After step  1102 , the user composes an email or OAD email as shown at step  1103 . Next, the user presses the “Send” button to instruct the Email System to transmit the email or OAD email at step  1104 . The Email System composes the MIME formatted email to include automatic folder configuration as shown at step  1105 . Next, the Email System sends the Email or OAD to the Destination Addresses at step  1106 . As indicated, the process ends at step  1107 . 
         [0131]    Referring now to  FIG. 12 , therein is presented a high-level logic flowchart illustrating an exemplary process and program for accepting an Automatic Folder in an Email System according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated, the process starts at step  1200  and thereafter proceeds to step  1201  whereby an Email System receives an incoming email with Automatic Folder configuration. A determination is made at step  1202  as to whether the Email System supports Automatic Folder Function. If the Email System does not support Automatic Folder Function, the MIME instruction for the Automatic Folder are ignored as shown at step  1203  and thereafter the Email System places and displays the email like a traditional email without the automatic folder configuration in the recipient&#39;s inbox at step  1204 . And the recipient continues on as shown at step  1205 . 
         [0132]    On the other hand, if the Email System is an enhanced one according to one embodiment of the present art, then the Email System locates MIME Automatic Folder Instructions as depicted at step  1206 . Next, the email program retrieves the automatic folder destination directory listed in the MIME instructions at step  1207 . 
         [0133]    Another determination is made at step  1208  as to whether the destination folder (also called automatic folder) exists in the recipient&#39;s Email System. If yes, the email is displayed both in the recipient&#39;s Automatic Folder and the Inbox as indicated at step  1209 . If not, the email is placed in the recipient&#39;s Inbox as depicted at step  1210 . Next, when the recipient opens this unread email with Automatic Folder Configuration at step  1211 , a pop-up window appears asking if the recipient wants to create the Automatic Folder as shown at step  1212 . If the recipient chooses no, then no automatic folder is created for the email and the recipient does whatever he needs to do. If the recipient chooses yes, then the email system automatically creates the Automatic Folder in his email box as indicated at step  1213 . It will be noted that step  1212  may be optional because an Automatic Folder may be created without giving users any choice. 
         [0134]    Next, after the user creates the Automatic Folder in his mailbox, the email is displayed in both his automatic folder and the inbox as indicated at step  1209 . Finally, the process ends at  1214 . 
         [0135]    It will be noted that for a recipient email system not supporting the automatic folder feature, said email system may ignore the automatic folder instruction portion and place the email or OAD email in the recipient&#39;s inbox. When the recipient replies said email or OAD email back to the sender, the sender&#39;s email system may recognize the original automatic folder configuration in the email or OAD email and place the replied email in both the inbox and the associated automatic folder. When the recipient forwards said email or OAD email to a third person(s) whose email system(s) supports the automatic folder feature, said email system(s) may recognize the original automatic folder configuration in the email or OAD email, and react on the steps described above for accepting an automatic folder based on the comparison of whether the automatic folder already exists in the email system. 
         [0136]    Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that an email or OAD email associated with an automatic folder from a sender may include a link to a location that enables the recipient whose email system does not support the automatic folder feature to download an automatic folder module, so as to enable the automatic folder function. 
         [0137]    Now referring to  FIG. 13 , therein is presented exemplary MIME instructions for a multipart MIME email with an automatic folder feature. As depicted in email MIME format  1300 , the MIME instructions comprise several parts separated by the boundary, “----=_NextPart_abc123”, said parts include message body  1301 , Excel attachment  1302 , and automatic folder instructions  1303 , etc. 
         [0138]    For the automatic folder part  1303 , an exemplary command called “emailDestinationFolder” is followed by the automatic folder name “Folders/AcmeCorp/Final Reports”. This command and automatic folder name gives the instruction as to the location of the automatic folder. In this particular example, the automatic folder “Final Reports” is a sub-folder of “AcmeCorp”, which in turn, is a sub-folder under “Folders” in the email system folder directory. 
         [0139]    For a recipient email system supporting the automatic folder feature, said email system prompts the recipient to accept the auto-creation of said automatic folder, “Folders/AcmeCorp/Final Reports”, if this folder does not exist, and places the email in both said automatic folder and inbox. For a recipient email system not supporting the automatic folder feature, said email system simply ignores the MIME instructions for the automatic folder, and places the email in the recipient&#39;s inbox. 
         [0140]    With Reference to  FIG. 14 , therein is presented a high-level logic flowchart illustrating an exemplary process and program for Email Thread Control Without User Interaction according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated, the process starts at step  1400  and thereafter proceeds to step  1401  whereby the received email is compared to all emails in the recipient&#39;s email box. A determination is made at step  1402  as to whether the content of an old email or OAD email is contained within the new one received. If the answer is no, the email or OAD email is placed in the appropriate folder at step  1403 , be it an automatic folder and/or an inbox that the email associates to, and such process ends at step  1406 . 
         [0141]    Going back to step  1402 , if the answer to the step is yes, then the enhanced email system automatically deletes the existing email or moves it from its current folder to another location (e.g., a centralized folder for prior version emails) as shown at step  1404 . Next, the system places the new email in the appropriate folder(s) (e.g., inbox or both inbox and an Automatic Folder) as indicated at step  1405  and the process ends at  1406 . 
         [0142]    It will be noted that the email thread management process normally works better for emails generated by clicking the “Reply” or “Forward” button and the email history is retained as part of the new email. So, if someone were to improperly change the email history after pressing “Reply” or “Forward” button and then send out a new email with changed history data, the email system will not delete or move the prior version email when receiving the new email, thus, providing an indicator that someone modified the email history. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the enhanced email system may ignore special characters or marks of the email content, which are added by some email systems when replying or forwarding an email. These features are applicable for both without user interaction and with user interaction cases. 
         [0143]    Now referring to  FIG. 15 , therein is presented a high-level flowchart illustrating an exemplary process and program for Email Thread Control With User Interaction according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated, the process starts at step  1500  and thereafter proceeds to step  1501  whereby a user opens a new email in his mailbox. As soon as he opens the new email, the system automatically compares the email to all emails in his email box as shown at step  1502 . A determination is made at step  1503  as to whether the content of an old email or OAD email is contained in the new one just opened. 
         [0144]    If the answer to step  1503  is no, then no additional function is performed and the process ends at step  1505 . If the answer is yes, then the email system automatically deletes the prior version email or OAD email, or moves it from its current location to another location (e.g., a centralized folder for all prior version emails) as depicted at step  1504 , after which the process ends at step  1505 . 
         [0145]      FIG. 16  is an illustration of an exemplary display  1600  that may be presented to a user according to one embodiment of the present invention. To invoke an Office Application Facility, the user presses an enable button, such as Word  1601 , Spreadsheet  1602 , Slide  1603 , Flowchart  1604 , Graphics  1605 , Project  1606 , or the like. Also, functional buttons, such as Workflow  1607 , Approval  1608 , Evaluation  1609 , Notes  1610 , Properties  1611 , Reports  1612 , and the like, may be included on the Email Toolbar. 
         [0146]    It will be noted that other functional buttons to allow a user to record, track and/or view data that are not shown on the display  1600  may be included according to the present invention. 
         [0147]      FIG. 17  is an illustration of an exemplary display  1700  that may be presented to a user when he clicks the “Word” button  1701  on the menu. A Word Office Application User Interface (OAUI)  1702  is depicted as it would exist following the user pressing the enable button  1701 . In this embodiment of the present invention, the Word Office Application Facility is embodied within the Word OAUI  1702 , which provides all or subset of the functionality of a Word Application. The user may then click “File” button  1703  inside the Word OAUI  1702 , select “New” (not shown) to create a word document within the enhanced email system. 
         [0148]      FIG. 18  is an illustration of a display  1800  of a Word document creation within an enhanced email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The Email Header may appear above the Word Application Menu and Toolbar as shown at  1801 . And the Email Header  1801  and Email Toolbar  1802  may be hidden by clicking the “Hide” button  1803  to provide a maximized view of the Word document. The editing region  1804  of the Word OAUI  1805  provides the display area in which the user will see the document that he is generating or editing within the display or Email System User Interface (ESUI)  1800 . 
         [0149]    The in-progress document generated may be saved in the Draft Folder for future modification. Also, Word documents generated in the Email System may be exported to external Word documents with properties, such as exportation date/time, created or exported by stevenbrown@xyz.com, and the like. The enhanced Email System may also allow a user to import a Word document and the properties of such document may indicate date/time imported, file size and modification size, etc. 
         [0150]    All the features described above apply to other Office Application Documents generated in the enhanced Email System according to the present invention. 
         [0151]      FIG. 19  is an illustration of composing a Mail Merge Master File within an enhanced Email System according to one embodiment of the present invention. The Mail Merge functional buttons and icons may be displayed in the Word OAUI  1901  within the Email System User Interface (ESUI)  1900 . The editing region  1902  of the Word OAUI  1901  provides the display area in which the user will see the Mail Merge Master File that he is generating and editing. The user may send out the Master File to team members or supervisors for modification, approval or evaluation, etc. before sending all the merged and customized individual documents to the ultimate recipients. Such attributes may be added by pressing the Workflow, Approval, Evaluation buttons if applicable and filling out the required information in the pop-up windows (not shown).  FIG. 22  and  FIG. 23  will demonstrate more about adding such special attributes to an Office Application Document. 
         [0152]    The finalized or approved Master File may then be merged with the data table to generate customized letters for different recipients. Also, the user may insert Recipient Group Email Addresses (e.g., “Team A” Email Addresses  1903 ) from the data table or address table rather than manually typing in each recipient address. 
         [0153]      FIG. 20  is an illustration of an exemplary display  2000  that may be presented to a user when he presses the “Spreadsheet” button  2001  on the email menu and selects “create new” (not shown) under the “File” button  2002 . A Spreadsheet Office Application User Interface (OAUI)  2003  is depicted as it would exist following the user pressing the enable button  2001  and “File” button  2002 , and selecting “create new” (not shown). In this embodiment of the present invention, the Spreadsheet Office Application Facility is embodied within the Spreadsheet OAUI  2003 , which provides all or subset of the functionality of a Spreadsheet Application. The editing region  2004  of the Spreadsheet OAUI  2003  provides the display area in which the user will see the spreadsheet that he is generating and editing within the display  2000 , also called Email System User Interface (ESUI). 
         [0154]      FIG. 21  is an illustration of an exemplary display  2100  with the Email Header and Email Toolbar hidden that may be presented to a user according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated, such a feature provides the user a maximized view of the spreadsheet within the display or ESUI  2100 . The Email Toolbar and Email Header may be unhidden by pressing the “Unhide” button  2101  on the Email Menu. Furthermore, if a recipient&#39;s email system supports Office Application Integration, the spreadsheet email document that he receives may look like the display  2100  after he opens the spreadsheet document. If his email system doesn&#39;t support Office Application Integration, then the spreadsheet document may be shown as an attachment of the email he receives. 
         [0155]    These features are not restricted to a Spreadsheet Application, but apply to all Office Applications according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0156]      FIG. 22  is an illustration of an exemplary display  2200  of setting or viewing different attributes of a spreadsheet document according to one embodiment of the present invention. Before getting into the detail, a workflow is typically defined as a process flow of a document through its life cycle, such as file in progress, file in review, file in modification, file in completion, and file in evaluation, etc. 
         [0157]    The enhanced email system may have a default setting of workflow for documents created within the email system. As demonstrated, the workflow of a spreadsheet document may be set by pressing the “Workflow” button  2201  on the email toolbar. A document may go through the workflow by sequence as shown on workflow menu  2204 . Authorization may be required if the user needs to go back to the prior stage(s). 
         [0158]    Also the enhanced email system allows a user to set customized workflows by pressing the “Workflow” button  2201  on the email toolbar and select the steps/stages needed. 
         [0159]    If the document needs approval, an appropriate individual(s) may approve the document by clicking the “Approval” button  2202  when receiving the document from the user. The enhanced Email System may automatically date/time stamp the document and record the approval digital signature(s) as shown on  2205 . 
         [0160]    Similarly, an appropriate individual(s) may evaluate the document by pressing the “Evaluate” button  2203  to provide feedback(s) as indicated on  2206 . 
         [0161]      FIG. 23  is an illustration of the continuation from  FIG. 22  of setting and viewing different attributes associated with a spreadsheet document according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated on the exemplary display  2300 , a user may create a message related to the spreadsheet document by pressing “Notes” button  2301 , selecting “create note” (not shown), and typing in the message in a pop-up window  2304 . When the user closes the note and sends out the spreadsheet document to a recipient, the message may be displayed in a pop-up window  2304  when the recipient presses “Notes” button  2301  and selects “view note” (not shown) if the recipient&#39;s email system supports the Office Application Integration. 
         [0162]    The user or the recipient may view the properties of the spreadsheet document by pressing the “Properties” button  2302  and the document creation, sending, modification data is shown on a pop-up window  2305 . Similarly, the user or the recipient may view various reports by pressing the “Report” button  2303  and the various reports are listed on a pop-up window  2306  for selecting and viewing. One should appreciate that such reports may also be converted into web pages and available to users via online access. 
         [0163]    It will be noted that the attribute features are not limited to the ones described above and that they apply to all office application documents, emails, forms (e.g., meeting invitation form), and other files that are transmitted via an Email System. 
         [0164]      FIG. 24  is an illustration of an exemplary display  2400  that may be presented to a user when he presses the “Slide” button  2401  on the email menu and selects “create new” (not shown) under the “File” button  2402 . A Slide Office Application User Interface (OAUI)  2403  is depicted as it would exist following the user pressing the enable button  2401  and “File” button  2402 , and selecting “create new” (not shown). In this embodiment of the present invention, the Slide Office Application Facility is embodied within the Slide OAUI  2403 , which provides all or subset of the functionality of a Slide Application. The editing region  2404  of the Slide OAUI  2403  provides the display area in which the user will see the slide that he is generating and editing within the display or ESUI  2400 . 
         [0165]      FIG. 25  is an illustration of an exemplary display  2500  that may be presented to a user when he presses the “Flowchart” button  2501  on the email menu and selects “create new” (not shown) under the “File” button  2502 . A Flowchart Office Application User Interface (OAUI)  2503  is depicted as it would exist following the user pressing the enable button  2501  and “File” button  2502 , and selecting “create new” (not shown). In this embodiment of the present invention, the Flowchart Office Application Facility is embodied within the Flowchart OAUI  2503 , which provides all or subset of the functionality of a Flowchart Application. The editing region  2504  of the Flowchart OAUI  2503  provides the display area in which the user will see the flowchart that he is generating and editing within the display or ESUI  2500 . 
         [0166]      FIG. 26  is an illustration of an exemplary display  2600  that may be presented to a user when he presses the “Graphics” button  2601  on the email menu and selects “create new” (not shown) under the “File” button  2602 . A Graphics Office Application User Interface (OAUI)  2603  is depicted as it would exist following the user pressing the enable button  2601  and “File” button  2602 , and selecting “create new” (not shown). In this embodiment of the present invention, the Graphics Office Application Facility is embodied within the Graphics OAUI  2603 , which provides all or subset of the functionality of a Graphics Application. The editing region  2604  of the Graphics OAUI  2603  provides the display area in which the user will see the graphics document that he is generating and editing within the display or ESUI  2600 . 
         [0167]      FIG. 27  is an illustration of an exemplary display  2700  that may be presented to a user when he presses the “Project” button  2701  on the email menu and selects “create new” (not shown) under the “File” button  2702 . A Project Office Application User Interface (OAUI)  2703  is depicted as it would exist following the user pressing the enable button  2701  and “File” button  2702 , and selecting “create new” (not shown). In this embodiment of the present invention, the Project Office Application Facility is embodied within the Project OAUI  2703 , which provides all or subset of the functionality of a Project Application. The editing region  2704  of the Project OAUI  2703  provides the display area in which the user will see the project document that he is generating and editing within the display or ESUI  2700 . 
         [0168]      FIG. 28  is an illustration of a display  2800  that may be presented to a user when he receives Office Application Documents in his Email Client according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated, the document appears in his inbox like an email message as shown at  2801  and  2804 . The user will be able to identify the Office Application Document by looking at the document icons as indicated at  2802 . The icon shows the type of document as illustrated in the exemplary document icons at  3002 ,  3003 , and  3004  of  FIG. 30  below. Such an icon differentiates the document from a normal email message, which is typically represented by an envelope icon. Also, the user can identify the type of document by looking at the file extension name that is automatically added to the subject title as shown at  2801  and  2804 . Alternatively, such documents can be differentiated by an additional column named “File Type” (not shown) on the Sorting Toolbar  2803 . 
         [0169]    When the user clicks to open document  2801  or  2804 , he may be presented with a display similar to the one depicted on  FIG. 21  or  FIG. 18 . 
         [0170]      FIG. 29  is an illustration of an exemplary display  2900  that may be created or displayed on a Workspace according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated, the spreadsheet OAUI maybe activated under a Workspace (e.g., Office Applications Workspace) by first selecting that Workspace  2902  and then pressing the “Spreadsheet” enable button  2901  and selecting “create new” (not shown) under the “File” button  2903  on the Spreadsheet OAUI menu  2904 . 
         [0171]    In this embodiment of the present invention, the Spreadsheet Office Application Facility is embedded within the Spreadsheet OAUI  2905 , which provides all or a subset of the functionality of a spreadsheet application. The editing region  2906  of the spreadsheet OAUI  2905  provides the display area in which the user will see the spreadsheet that he is generating and editing on the Office Application Workspace within the Display or ESUI  2900 . 
         [0172]      FIG. 30  is an illustration of an exemplary display  3000  that may be presented to a user when he saves Office Application Documents on a Workspace (e.g., Office Application Workspace)  3001 . As indicated, such documents may be displayed by document icons similar to  3002  (Spreadsheet),  3003  (Word),  3004  (PDF), and the like. And there is a pull down Arrow  3005  in each document icon that allows the user to select either the local copy or the server copy of the document. Users may replicate such document in order to update the server copy or the local copy of the document. Please refer back to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 8  for information related to replicating documents from Workspace. 
         [0173]      FIG. 31  is an illustration of example reports that may be presented to a user when he selects Individual or Group Summary Reports. The exemplary Business Analyst Individual Report as shown on  3101  indicates the total numbers and ratios for Business Analyst John Doe during Fiscal Year 2005. Similarly, the report  3102  depicts a group&#39;s summary statistics related to John Doe&#39;s Business Unit. 
         [0174]    Such reports provide the senior management factual evidence as to John Doe&#39;s performance in year 2005 as compared to his peers, as well as the overall view of the work accomplished by the Business Analyst Unit. 
         [0175]    Periodic reports, such as bi-weekly or monthly reports, may be generated to raise any red flags to the senior management regarding possible overdue work and bottlenecks, so that corrective actions can be taken in a timely fashion to address such issues and to increase workforce productivity. 
         [0176]    One should appreciate that other tracking and statistical reports may be generated to provide senior management timely information in planning, monitoring, operation and management. 
         [0177]      FIG. 32  is an illustration of an exemplary display  3200  of incorporating the Office Applications into Yahoo Email System according to one embodiment of the present invention. To invoke an Office Application Facility for composing an office document, a user presses an enable button, such as Word  3201 , Spreadsheet  3202 , Slide  3203 , Flowchart  3204 , Project  3205 , and the like. The system may then prompt the user to enter personal and credit card information before displaying the Office Application User Interface (OAUI) in Yahoo Email System. This step enables an email service provider, such as Yahoo, Hotmail, Google or AOL, to collect authenticate customer information (many users fill in false personal information when opening an email account) and to generate additional income for providing online office application services. 
         [0178]    Also, an email provider company may collect data related to creating, sending, receiving, and modification of Office Application Documents, so as to find out customer preferences, and produce statistical or trend analysis reports, etc. 
         [0179]    Those skilled in the art should appreciate that the data collected or tracked is not limited to what is mentioned here, but includes any data that is related to the customers and files they are using within the email system, such as office application documents and emails. 
         [0180]    As indicated on the display  3200 , the email icon  3206  may represent the type of the email file, such as an envelope icon for a normal email, a Word icon for a Word document, a Spreadsheet icon for a Spreadsheet document, etc. Also, the email toolbar and email header can be hidden or unhidden to adjust the viewing space of an office application document by pressing “Hide”  3207  and “Unhide” button  3208 . 
         [0181]    The Yahoo email system may be configured so that a recipient may view the received Office Application Document by clicking the document itself to activate the OAUI for displaying the document. But he may need to press an enable button to modify the document or compose a new one after paying a fee. 
         [0182]    It will be noted that the features elaborated above apply to any other email systems, such as Hotmail, Gmail and AOL, etc. 
         [0183]      FIG. 33  is an illustration of an exemplary display  3300  that incorporates the Automatic Folder feature according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated, an Automatic Folder may be created by clicking the Arrow of the “Folder” button  3301  on the Email Toolbar, and this exemplary method will be elaborated in  FIG. 34 . 
         [0184]    Also, an Automatic Folder may be initiated by pressing the “New” button  3302 , and this exemplary method will be elaborated in  FIG. 35 . Those skilled in the art should appreciate that the Automatic Folder may be created by other methods without depart from the spirit of the present invention. 
         [0185]      FIG. 34  is an illustration of an exemplary display  3400  when a user (e.g., Joe Blowe) clicks the Arrow of the “Folder” button  3301  of  FIG. 33 . A drop down menu  3401  appears to allow the user to select “Create Automatic Folder”. When he clicks “Create Automatic Folder”  3402 , a pop-up window  3403  appears and asks for input. As indicated, the user types in the Automatic Folder Name “Client A”  3404  and selects “Folders”  3405  under which the Automatic Folder resides within the Folder Directory. The user then clicks “Yes”  3406  to create this automatic folder. When the user clicks “New”  3302  shown on  FIG. 33 , the “Client A” folder name is automatically shown in the Email Header section, which will be elaborated in  FIG. 35  below. 
         [0186]      FIG. 35  is an illustration of an exemplary display  3500  for composing an email with automatic folder configuration. As mentioned, this is a continuation from  FIG. 34  after the user clicks the “New” button  3302 . The “Client A”  3501  is automatically shown on the “Auto-Folder” Field. The user composes the email in the email body  3502 , fills out recipients&#39; addresses  3503 , subject title  3504 , etc., and presses the “Send” button  3505  to send out the email with automatic folder configuration to the recipients. 
         [0187]    However, a user may skip the steps depicted in  FIG. 34 , click the “New” button  3302  directly on display  3300  of  FIG. 33 , and type in “Client A”  3501  in the Auto-Folder field to create the automatic folder. Also, if the user wants to compose another email subject that&#39;s related to “Client A” later on, he may click the Arrow  3506  in the Auto-Folder field to select “Client A” from a drop-down menu as it already exists. 
         [0188]      FIG. 36  is an illustration of an exemplary display  3600  for receiving an email with automatic folder configuration in an email system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As depicted, the email “Time Budget”  3601  with automatic folder “Client A” sent by Joe Blowe reaches Steven Brown&#39;s inbox. For simplicity, there is no automatic folder in Steven Brown&#39;s email box. When he clicks the “Time Budget” email  3601  to open it, a pop-up window appears on the opened email, and asks him if he wants to accept the automatic folder “Client A”. If he clicks yes, the automatic folder is added to his email box, which will be elaborated in  FIG. 37  below. Also, the pop-up window may be activated when Steven Brown clicks the “Close” button of the opened “Tim Budget” email  3601 , rather than be activated when he first opens the email. This is to allow him to view the email without interruption and then prompt him to decide if he needs the automatic folder or not. 
         [0189]      FIG. 37  is an illustration of an exemplary display  3700  for displaying an email in an automatic folder, which is a continuation of the display from  FIG. 36 . As indicated, after user Steven Brown accepts the Automatic Folder “Client A”, the email system adds “Client A”  3701  under “Folders”  3702  on the Email Folder Directory  3703 . The email “Time Budget”  3704  is then not only shown in the Inbox  3705 , but also in the automatic folder “Client A”  3701  when the user selects the Inbox or the automatic folder. Going forward, “Time Budget” emails and other subject name emails that are generated by “Reply” or “Forward” button will be displayed in both the inbox and “Client A” automatic folder because these emails are assigned automatic folder “Client A” configurations. 
         [0190]      FIG. 38  is an illustration of an exemplary display  3800  for displaying all incoming emails in a user&#39;s Inbox  3808 , including those associated with automatic folders. For simplicity, the user Joe Blowe has ten new emails in his inbox, and five of them are related to three automatic folders, Client A  3801 , Client B  3802 , and Client C  3803 . These five emails are also displayed in the respective automatic folder if Joe Blowe selects the desired automatic folder (not shown). 
         [0191]    Unread emails may be colored or bolded, and read ones may be uncolored or in regular font in both the inbox and the automatic folders for easy identification. For the five emails with automatic folder configurations, they are the same emails but displayed in two locations. If one of these emails is opened in the inbox or automatic folder, it will be uncolored or unbolded in both the inbox and the automatic folder. 
         [0192]    Also, a “Folder” column  3804  may be added to differentiate the emails with automatic folder configurations to those without. This column also provides an additional sorting attribute (e.g., sort by “Folder”) to provide the user an easy way to find an email. The user can also locate an email easily by finding it in the related automatic folder if applicable. 
         [0193]    Compared to the prior arts, the advantages of displaying emails with automatic folder configurations in both inbox and automatic folder are the following: First, it provides a centralized location (inbox) to display all incoming emails and avoids emails being unattended to in the automatic folders especially when there are a number of automatic folders in a user&#39;s email box. Second, it leverages the easy sort feature to locate an email in an inbox that is sorted by “Folder”. Third, with the integrated feature of the present invention, not only traditional emails and forms (e.g., meeting invitation forms) can be displayed in this way, but also office application documents. 
         [0194]    Those skilled in the art should appreciate that automatic folders may be automatically created in other locations, such as “Drafts”  3805 , “Sent”  3806 , and the like. An automatic folder under “Drafts”  3805  holds those in-progress saved emails or OAD emails that are related to the automatic folder, this is especially important and useful for office application documents created within the email system as some of these documents may not be ready for transmission and require a holding place. An automatic folder under “Sent”  3806  holds sent emails or OAD emails that are related to the automatic folder if the user chooses to save it when sending. 
         [0195]    As indicated earlier, the emails associated with automatic folders include any traditional emails, forms and all kinds of documents that are transmittable via an email system. The icon  3807  may indicate the type of document the email is, such as an envelope icon for a normal email, a Word icon for a word document, a Spreadsheet icon for a spreadsheet document, and the like. 
         [0196]      FIG. 39  is an illustration of an exemplary display  3900  for Email Thread Control according to one embodiment of the present invention. As indicated, the email system automatically deletes or relocates email  3601  (shown on  FIG. 36 ) from Steven Brown&#39;s Inbox  3902  and the “Client A” Automatic Folder  3903  on  FIG. 39 , and displays the new version email  3901  because the content of the prior version  3601  of  FIG. 36  is contained in the new one  3901 . 
         [0197]    In summary, the present invention is directed to a system and method for integrating the functionalities of office applications into an email system, such that the creating and editing of the office application document is available to a user while the user is using the email functions. The present invention provides an improved system and method for creating, viewing, sending, receiving, editing, and tracking of office applications documents and emails. 
         [0198]    Generally described, the invention employs an office application facility to provide the functionality of an office application within the user interface of an email application. Users can invoke the office application facility and access the office application functionalities within the context of the email system user interface (ESUI). An office application can pass its data to an office application facility for manipulation. Thus, the office application facility acts as a conduit between the email system and the office application. 
         [0199]    The present invention also includes the creation of automatic folders within the email system to group emails and office application documents in the appropriate automatic folders. Another function of the present invention is to automatically delete or remove prior version emails and office application documents within an email system. 
         [0200]    The present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments, which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.