Patent ID: 7640321

Claim:
An e-mail processing method comprising: sending, from a mail server for performing a mail delivery process to mail clients, mail attribute information indicating an attribute of an e-mail for the mail client in a data format, the data format enabling said mail client to display the mail attribute information by executing a document browsing program; receiving, in the mail client, the mail attribute information transmitted from the mail server, and displaying the received mail attribute information in accordance with the document browsing program; accepting, in the mail client, an operation to select an e-mail selected by a user from among e-mails corresponding to the displayed mail attribute information; sending from the mail client to the mail server, identification information for identifying an e-mail selected by the user; receiving in the mail server, the identification information transmitted from the mail client generating by the mail server at least one predetermined character string, the at least one predetermined character string being separate from the e-mail selected by the user and indicative of a command to the mail client to activate the e-mail processing program and store the e-mail transmitted by the mail server in a nonvolatile memory; sending to the mail client a communication that includes a header comprising a field name and a field value and the at least one predetermined character string, wherein the at least one predetermined character string comprises a first value for the field name and a second value for the field value, the at least one predetermined character string for commanding the mail client to process data transmitted from the mail server to the mail client in accordance with an e-mail processing program, prior to or along with sending the e-mail specified by the identification information; and in response to receiving the at least one predetermined character string transmitted from the mail server, automatically activating the e-mail processing program and storing by the mail client in the nonvolatile memory the e-mail transmitted from the mail server, the nonvolatile memory being included in the mail client.