Patent ID: 7003551

Claim:
A method of storing attachment files to e-mail communications received in an e-mail server, comprising: responsive to the e-mail server receiving an e-mail communication containing an attachment file, the e-mail server extracting header information from the e-mail communication and storing the e-mail header information in a mail store; the e-mail server extracting attachment file header information from the attachment file contained in the e-mail communication; the e-mail server comparing the extracted attachment file header information with attachment file header information from other attachment files previously stored in the mail store to determine whether the attachment files received with the e-mail communications are duplicates of previously stored files; if an attachment file is a duplicate, the e-mail server storing a link in the mail store between the e-mail header information and the previously stored attachment file; and then the e-mail server removing the attachment file from the e-mail communication.