Automatic Scheduling Tool

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention relate to a message based scheduling tool employed to function with an electronic calendar. As messages are transmitting between clients, a tool is employed to parse the messages to search for one or more string(s) of characters characteristic of a meeting. Based upon these characteristics and the parsing, the electronic calendars are searched to find an available time slot on both calendars in which a meeting can take place, and, if an available time is found, the meeting is scheduled and the clients are sent notification of the scheduling.

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         7 . A computer system comprising:
 a server in communication with storage media;   a function unit in communication with the server, the functional unit comprising:
 a communication manager to parse message content embedded in at least one message being communicated across the server, including the communication manager to search for one or more select string of characters within the message, wherein the searched string of characters includes at least one characteristic of a meeting; 
 a calendar manager in communication with the communication manager, the calendar manager to search electronic calendars local to the storage media and associated with a characteristic of the message to find an available time slot to schedule the meeting based upon the at least one characteristic; and 
 a presentation manager in communication with the calendar manager, the presentation manager to present at least one common and available date and time for the meeting within a time interval selected from the group consisting of: a predefined time interval, and an adjusted time interval. 
   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , further comprising the communication manager to parse embedded message content for one or more select string of characters characterizing an attribute of a meeting location, and to communicate with the calendar manager to search the electronic calendars associated with the characteristic of the message for a matching available time slot for the requested attribute with respect to the meeting location. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , further comprising the communication manager to identify an interval for the meeting including a start time and an end time. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising the calendar manager to create a calendar entry for each of searched calendars in response to finding a mutually available time slot for the meeting including the meeting location and the meeting interval, and the calendar manager to send a meeting notification message to each user of the searched calendars. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising said calendar manager to set a duration following the communication within which to identify and create a calendar entry for the meeting, and to send a notification message to each of the clients in response to an absence of availability of the time slot for the meeting within the set duration. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the message communicated between the client machines is a real-time direct text-based communication. 
     
     
         13 . A computer program product for use with an electronic communication, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied thereon, which when executed causes a computer to implement the method comprising:
 parsing message content embedded in at least one message being communicated between at least two client machines, the parsing including searching for at least one select string of characters within the message content, wherein the searched string of characters characterizes a meeting;   searching electronic calendars of each of the at least two clients to find a mutually available time slot to schedule the meeting based upon the characteristics; and   presenting each of the at least two clients with at least one common and available date and time for the meeting.   
     
     
         14 . The computer program product of  claim 13 , further comprising parsing embedded message content for one or more select string of characters characterizing an attribute of a meeting location, and searching the electronic calendars of each of the at least two clients for a matching available time slot for the requested attribute with respect to the meeting location. 
     
     
         15 . The computer program product of  claim 14 , further comprising in each of the messages identifying an interval for the meeting including a start time and an end time. 
     
     
         16 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , further comprising creating a calendar entry for each of the at least two clients in response to finding a mutually available time slot for the meeting including the meeting location and the meeting interval, and sending a meeting notification message to each of the at least two clients. 
     
     
         17 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , further comprising setting a duration following the communication within which to identify and create a calendar entry for the meeting, and sending a notification message to each of the clients in response to an absence of availability of the time slot for the meeting within the set duration. 
     
     
         18 . The computer program product of  claim 13 , wherein the message communicated between the client machines is a real-time direct text-based communication. 
     
     
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