Method and apparatus for generating a new event directly from a document

Abstract

An event providing apparatus includes a storage device in communicating with a date/time detector module. The detector module detects a condition that at least a portion of information stored on the storage device could be mapped to an event, identifies date and time entries in the information, and generates a hyperlink to open an application for creating an event for each entry, the date and time being provided to the application to generate the event directly from the information. The apparatus also includes a display for displaying the time and date in the form of the hyperlink; and a prompter module communicating with the detector module for automatically providing a prompt related to the event in response to selection of the hyperlink. In response to user interaction with the user prompt, the application is started and the event based on the hyperlinked date and time is created.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 identifying a temporal expression in an electronic message;   displaying a body of the electronic message in response to the identifying, the body including a hyperlink corresponding with the temporal expression which was identified;   receiving, during the displaying of the body, an input that indicates selection of the hyperlink;   displaying a data entry interface based on receipt of the input, the data entry interface configured with a temporal field that is populated with the temporal expression;   receiving, during the displaying of the data entry interface, another input that indicates acceptance of information in the data entry interface, the information including the temporal expression; and   storing, in response to the another input, an event based on the information.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising mapping text in the electronic message to another field of the data entry interface. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying comprises identifying a format of the temporal expression, and matching the format to an entry in a lookup table by extracting the entry from the lookup table, and inserting the entry into the temporal field of the data entry interface. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the temporal expression comprises a date expression, wherein identifying comprises processing the electronic message to identify a relative date expression in the electronic message, and wherein the temporal field is populated based on an inferred date. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein processing comprises processing the electronic message using a lexical analyzer and a parser to identify the relative date expression in the electronic message. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the relative date expression includes at least one of today, tomorrow, yesterday, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and night. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic message is one of an email, a peer-to-peer personal identification number (PIN) message, a short message service (SMS) message, a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message, and an instant message (IM). 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying comprises identifying a plurality of temporal expressions in the electronic message, and wherein for each of the plurality of temporal expressions identified, the body includes an associated distinct hyperlink. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising displaying a further data entry interface based on receipt of selection of one of the hyperlinks associated with one of the plurality of temporal expressions, the further data entry interface configured with a temporal field that is populated with the one of the plurality of temporal expressions, receiving, during the displaying of the further data entry interface, input that indicates acceptance of information in the data entry interface, the information including the one of the plurality of temporal expressions, and storing, in response to the input, a further event based on the information. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the event is one of a calendar event and a task event. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein mapping text comprises associating a subject of the electronic message with a subject field of the data entry interface, and associating at least one of a sender of the electronic message and a recipient of the electronic message with an attendee field of the data entry field. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, after receipt of the input that indicates selection of the hyperlink and before displaying the data entry interface, displaying a menu with a choice to create the event. 
     
     
         13 . An electronic device comprising:
 a display;   an input device;   a microprocessor configured for identifying a temporal expression in an electronic message, causing display of a body of the electronic message in response to the identifying, the body including a hyperlink corresponding with the temporal expression which was identified, during the displaying of the body, receiving an input that indicates receipt of selection of the hyperlink, displaying a data entry interface based on receipt of the input, the data entry interface configured with a temporal field that is populated with the temporal expression, receiving, during the displaying of the data entry interface, another input that indicates acceptance of information in the data entry interface, the information including the temporal expression, and storing, in response to receipt of the another input, an event based on the information.   
     
     
         14 . The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein the electronic device is one of a server and a wireless device. 
     
     
         15 . The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein the microprocessor is further configured for mapping text in the electronic message to another field of the data entry interface. 
     
     
         16 . The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein identifying comprises identifying a format of the temporal expression, and matching the format to an entry in a lookup table by extracting the entry from the lookup table, and inserting the entry into the temporal field of the data entry interface. 
     
     
         17 . The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein the temporal expression comprises a date expression, wherein identifying comprises processing the electronic message to identify a relative date expression in the electronic message, and wherein the temporal field is populated based on an inferred date. 
     
     
         18 . The electronic device of  claim 17 , wherein processing comprises processing the electronic message using a lexical analyzer and a parser to identify the relative date expression in the electronic message. 
     
     
         19 . The electronic device of  claim 18 , wherein the relative date expression includes at least one of today, tomorrow, yesterday, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and night. 
     
     
         20 . The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein the electronic message is one of an email, a peer-to-peer personal identification number (PIN) message, a short message service (SMS) message, a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message, and an instant message (IM). 
     
     
         21 . The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein identifying comprises identifying a plurality of temporal expressions in the electronic message, and wherein for each of the plurality of temporal expressions identified, the body includes an associated distinct hyperlink. 
     
     
         22 . The electronic device of  claim 21 , wherein the microprocessor is further configured for displaying a further data entry interface based on receipt of selection of one of the distinct hyperlinks associated with one of the temporal expressions, the further data entry interface configured with a temporal field that is populated with the one of the plurality of temporal expressions, receiving, during the displaying of the further data entry interface, input that indicates acceptance of information in the data entry interface, the information including the one of the plurality of temporal expressions, and storing, in response to the input, a further event based on the information. 
     
     
         23 . The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein the event is one of a calendar event and a task event. 
     
     
         24 . The electronic device of  claim 15 , wherein mapping text comprises associating a subject of the electronic message with a subject field of the data entry interface, and associating at least one of a sender of the electronic message and a recipient of the electronic message with an attendee field of the data entry interface. 
     
     
         25 . The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein the microprocessor is further configured for, after receipt of the input that indicates selection of the hyperlink and before displaying the date entry interface, displaying a menu with a choice to create the event. 
     
     
         26 . A storage device storing non-transitory computer-readable code executable by a processor of an electronic device for identifying a temporal expression in an electronic message, causing display of a body of the electronic message in response to the identifying, the body including a hyperlink corresponding with the temporal expression which was identified, during the displaying of the body, receiving an input that indicates receipt of selection of the hyperlink, displaying a data entry interface based on receipt of the input, the data entry interface configured with a temporal field that is populated with the temporal expression, receiving, during the displaying of the data entry interface, another input that indicates acceptance of information in the data entry interface, the information including the temporal expression, and storing, in response to receipt of the another input, an event based on the information.