Patent ID: 7552178

Claim:
A method for displaying a reply status and a history of an email, the method comprising: displaying the email; displaying an icon and a reply summary on the email, wherein the icon is a visual depiction that a recipient of the email intends to reply to the email and the reply summary comprises a short text message informing a user that a recipient of the email intends to reply to the email; responsive to activating a get info button displayed on the email, displaying the reply status and the history in a window on the email, wherein the history includes a plurality of activities regarding the email including a date and a time of each of the plurality of activities; responsive to activating a reply options icon, displaying a window on the email comprising an option for creating a reply that includes the history of the email; calling the reply to the email to indicate an intent to reply to the email by the user; and responsive to the calling of the reply, updating the reply status and the history for other users that have the email open.