Patent ID: 7219130

Claim:
A method for interacting with an underlying computer software application using e-mail, said method comprising: receiving an APPMAIL request initiated by said underlying computer software application in response to control of said underlying computer software application by a standard user, said APPMAIL request defining a task requiring input to the underlying computer software application from at least one e-mail user recipient that cannot directly access said underlying software application; generating an APPMAIL based upon said APPMAIL request, said APPMAIL including a body providing information concerning said task and at least a structured input portion, said structured input portion including at least one structured input field for receiving pre-defined structured input from said at least one recipient; sending said APPMAIL to said at least one e-mail user recipient via e-mail; receiving a completed APPMAIL from said at least one e-mail user recipient, said completed APPMAIL comprising structured input data entered by said at least one e-mail user recipient in said at least one structured input field; extracting said structured input data from said completed APPMAIL; storing said extracted structured input data for input to and use by said underlying computer software application, wherein said at least one e-mail user recipient does not have direct access to or control of said underlying computer software application; inputting said extracted structured input data to said underlying basic computer software application; using said underlying software application to generate a report that summarizes said structured input data extracted from said completed APPMAIL received from said at least one e-mail user recipient.