Abstract: A method and a structure for providing electronic mail, facsimile transmission and file transfer maintain a data base in which the communication parameters of a local computer are maintained separately from the communication parameters of a remote computer which communicates the local computer. The data base includes an electronic address book in which a method and a structure are provided for specifying person, group, computer, calling card and service data. The person type data includes specification of a preference for data, or facsimile transmission. Service information are efficiently added because of modularly designed application programming interface. A method and a structure are also provided to allow synchronization between files residing on different computers.

Abstract: A method and a structure for providing electronic mail, facsimile transmission and file transfer maintain a data base in which the communication parameters of a local computer are maintained separately from the communication parameters of a remote computer which communicates the local computer. The data base includes an electronic address book in which a method and a structure are provided for specifying person, group, computer, calling card and service data. The person type data includes specification of a preference for data, or facsimile transmission. Service information are efficiently added because of modularly designed application programming interface. A method and a structure are also provided to allow synchronization between files residing on different computers.

Abstract: A window server communicates with clients and creates, destroys and modifies window objects. Objects are created in response to parameters provided by clients. Clients can obtain a variety of information regarding windows managed by the window server. Hardware windows are supported by subclassing objects, which provides polymorphic screen objects. Therefore, it does not matter whether the window is created by a hardware or software entity. Clients may be notified by the window server in response to certain events occurring with respect to particular windows, such as a configuration change. The window server also dynamically manages a default window layering scheme which takes into account the parameters specified, or not specified, by clients as well as the characteristics of the windows currently being managed by the window server. The window server also supports window clustering, which allows a window to span monitors.