System And Method For Displaying Message History When Composing A Message

Abstract

A system and a method are provided for displaying message history while composing a message. The method includes displaying a message composition application comprising a first recipient field, a message history display area, and a message composition field; detecting an input into the first recipient field for specifying a recipient; and upon detecting that the recipient has been specified: displaying a second recipient field; navigating application focus from the first recipient field to the second recipient field; and displaying a message history associated with the recipient in the message history display area.

1 . A method of operating a mobile device comprising:
 displaying a message composition application comprising a first recipient field, a message history display area, and a message composition field;   detecting an input into the first recipient field for specifying a recipient; and   upon detecting that the recipient has been specified:
 displaying a second recipient field; 
 navigating application focus from the first recipient field to the second recipient field; and 
 displaying a message history associated with the recipient in the message history display area. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising, when detecting application focus has moved from the second recipient field to the message composition field, continuing to display the first recipient field and the second recipient field. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising receiving text input in the message composition field before receiving the input in the first recipient field for specifying the recipient. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 receiving text in the first recipient field; 
 displaying a list of candidate recipients corresponding to the text in the first recipient field, the list also comprising the recipient; 
 detecting that a cursor has been positioned over the recipient in the list; 
 displaying the message history associated with the recipient in the message history display area; and 
 receiving a selection input specifying the recipient, wherein the selection input is the input received in the first recipient field. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising, before receiving the selection input specifying the recipient, detecting that the cursor has been positioned over a candidate recipient, and displaying message history associated with the candidate recipient in the message history display area. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the message history shown in the message history display area is a portion of a complete message history associated with the recipient, and a link is provided in the message composition application to navigate between different portions of the complete message history. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the message history shown in the message history display area is the most recent portion of the complete message history, and the link, when selected, navigates to an older portion of the complete message history. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the recipient that has been specified is a contact entry unifying multiple recipient contact addresses, and the message history displayed comprises a combination of messages exchanged with any one of the multiple recipient contact addresses. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein each of the recipient contact addresses have identical names associated with the contact entry. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the message is a text message, which is exchanged using a short messaging service protocol or a multimedia messaging service protocol. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising receiving an additional input specifying an additional recipient, and replacing the message history associated with the recipient with a message history associated with the additional recipient. 
     
     
         12 . A computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions for displaying message history while composing a message, the computer executable instructions comprising:
 displaying a message composition application comprising a first recipient field, a message history display area, and a message composition field;   detecting an input into the first recipient field for specifying a recipient; and   upon detecting that the recipient has been specified:
 displaying a second recipient field; 
 navigating application focus from the first recipient field to the second recipient field; and 
 displaying a message history associated with the recipient in the message history display area. 
   
     
     
         13 . The computer readable medium of  claim 12  further comprising, when detecting application focus has moved from the second recipient field to the message composition field, continuing to display the first recipient field and the second recipient field. 
     
     
         14 . The computer readable medium of  claim 12  further comprising receiving text input in the message composition field before receiving the input in the first recipient field for specifying the recipient. 
     
     
         15 . The computer readable medium of  claim 12  further comprising:
 receiving text in the first recipient field; 
 displaying a list of candidate recipients corresponding to the text in the first recipient field, the list also comprising the recipient; 
 detecting that a cursor has been positioned over the recipient in the list; 
 displaying the message history associated with the recipient in the message history display area; and 
 receiving a selection input specifying the recipient, wherein the selection input is the input received in the first recipient field. 
 
     
     
         16 . The computer readable medium of  claim 15  further comprising, before receiving the selection input specifying the recipient, detecting that the cursor has been positioned over a candidate recipient, and displaying message history associated with the candidate recipient in the message history display area. 
     
     
         17 . The computer readable medium of  claim 12  wherein the message history shown in the message history display area is a portion of a complete message history associated with the recipient, and a link is provided in the message composition application to navigate between different portions of the complete message history. 
     
     
         18 . The computer readable medium of  claim 17  wherein the message history shown in the message history display area is the most recent portion of the complete message history, and the link, when selected, navigates to an older portion of the complete message history. 
     
     
         19 . The computer readable medium of  claim 12  wherein the recipient that has been specified is a contact entry unifying multiple recipient contact addresses, and the message history displayed comprises a combination of messages exchanged with any one of the multiple recipient contact addresses. 
     
     
         20 . The computer readable medium of  claim 19  wherein each of the recipient contact addresses have identical names associated with the contact entry. 
     
     
         21 . The computer readable medium of  claim 12  wherein the message is a text message, which is exchanged using a short messaging service protocol or a multimedia messaging service protocol. 
     
     
         22 . The computer readable medium of  claim 12  further comprising receiving an additional input specifying an additional recipient, and replacing the message history associated with the recipient with a message history associated with the additional recipient. 
     
     
         23 . A mobile device comprising a processor, a display, and memory, the memory comprising computer executable instructions for displaying message history on the display while composing a message, the computer executable instructions comprising:
 displaying a message composition application comprising a first recipient field, a message history display area, and a message composition field;   detecting an input into the first recipient field for specifying a recipient; and   upon detecting that the recipient has been specified:
 displaying a second recipient field; 
 navigating application focus from the first recipient field to the second recipient field; and 
 displaying a message history associated with the recipient in the message history display area.