Method To Initiate Server Based Collaboration On E-Mail Attachments

Abstract

Server-based collaboration is initiated by an email. When the user creates the email message with attachments, a collaboration website is provisioned. The collaboration website allows collaborations on the attached documents by the recipients of the message. The ease of collaboration with email and the advantages of the collaboration server are thus both available to the user.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method for initiating collaboration, comprising:
 accepting a message for electronic delivery, said message identifying one or more recipients and one or more documents upon which collaboration is to be initiated;   sending a request to a collaboration server to initiate collaboration on said one or more documents by collaborators comprising at least one of said one or more recipients; and   sending said message to said one or more recipients.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said message further comprises additional information describing collaboration purpose for the one or more documents. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said message is an email message. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said message is altered to include a hyperlink to a collaboration web site provisioned by the collaboration server. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the message includes privilege levels for the one or more recipients to access the one or more documents at the collaboration web site. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the privilege levels for said one or more recipients are determined from headers for said recipients in the message. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the privilege levels for said one or more recipients are selected by a user. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said one or more recipients are added to an access control list of a collaboration web site provisioned by the collaboration server. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising enabling pre-selection of the collaboration server. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising enabling pre-selection of the collaboration server from a list of most recently used servers. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the list includes collaboration servers that are accessible to the one or more recipients. 
     
     
         12 . A system for enabling collaboration, comprising:
 a memory that stores computer executable code;   a processor that processes said computer executable code to implement:
 a messaging application that creates a message to one or more recipients including one or more documents to be collaborated upon by the one or more recipients; and 
 a collaboration request module that sends a request to a collaboration server to provision a collaboration site for initiating collaboration on the one or more documents by the one or more recipients; and 
   a message server that sends the message to the one or more recipients.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the messaging application provides a dialogue box for selection of the collaboration server. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the message further comprises additional information describing collaboration purpose for the one or more documents. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the collaboration server includes discussion capability and the messaging application enables the one or more recipients to participate in a discussion by sending messages to the collaboration server. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the message is an email message. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the messaging application modifies the message to include a hyperlink to the collaboration site for the one or more documents. 
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory computer storage media storing program instructions that, when executed by a computing device, perform a method of initiating collaboration by:
 receiving a request that collaboration be initiated on a document identified by a message for electronic delivery to one or more recipients;   creating a collaboration site with the document copied to the collaboration site; and   sending the message identifying the collaboration site to the one or more recipients.   
     
     
         19 . The computer storage media of  claim 18 , wherein the message includes privilege levels for the one or more recipients to access the document upon which collaboration has been initiated at the collaboration site. 
     
     
         20 . The computer storage media of  claim 19 , wherein the privilege levels for the one or more recipients are determined from headers for the one or more recipients in the message.