Patent ID: 8055715

Claim:
A method for grouping an electronic message into one of a plurality of threads, comprising: receiving a plurality of search criteria comprising a subject, a date range and set of correspondents; performing a search query on a plurality of electronic messages within a storage device, the search query being based on the plurality of search criteria; identifying the electronic message stored within the storage device based on the subject, the date range and the set of correspondents; retrieving the electronic message from the storage device, the storage device being coupled via a network to a computer having a computer display; parsing the electronic message to identify a message subject, a message date and a message set of correspondents of the electronic message; identifying a first subset of the plurality of threads comprising: a thread subject that matches the message subject of the electronic message; the subject defining a first search criteria from which a plurality of electronic messages are searched, the plurality of electronic messages comprising the first subset; a thread date range within which the message date of the electronic message is located, the thread date range defining a second search criteria from which the plurality of electronic messages are searched; identifying a second subset of threads, the second subset comprising a subset of the first subset, that comprise the same correspondents as the set of correspondents of the electronic message; responsive to the second subset comprising a single thread, adding the electronic message to the thread; and displaying on the computer display a representation of the single thread including the electronic message.