Abstract: A method and a system for managing and retrieving data within an electronic mail editor and/or an application external of the electronic mail editor are provided. In conventional systems, a user needs to sieve through their e-mail messages to locate messages of a same subject and thereafter to identify a most current or his required information. In the present invention, a reference data tag is inserted in an e-mail message and is linked to tag values stored in an appropriate database. The data tag may have one or more instances inserted in other messages at different times and assigned a different data tag value at the time of insertion. The data tag may be represented by similar indicia. To retrieve a most current value among the different values, a user merely accesses any of the indicia in any of the messages.

Abstract: A method for performing a query on records in a table is disclosed. The table has at least a first field, a second field and a third field. The query is for obtaining an aggregate result on the third field of records for at least one combination of the first and the second fields. The method includes receiving a query involving a single query statement. This query statement includes at least one built-in function corresponding to the second field of the combination. Each built-in function includes a mathematical formula that selects only a third field of records whose second field equals the second field of the combination. The method also includes executing the query statement to produce the aggregate result.

Abstract: A method and a system for managing and retrieving data within an electronic mail editor and/or an application external of the electronic mail editor are provided. In conventional systems, a user needs to sieve through their e-mail messages to locate messages of a same subject and thereafter to identify a most current or his required information. In the present invention, a reference data tag is inserted in an e-mail message and is linked to tag values stored in an appropriate database. The data tag may have one or more instances inserted in other messages at different times and assigned a different data tag value at the time of insertion. The data tag may be represented by similar indicia. To retrieve a most current value among the different values, a user merely accesses any of the indicia in any of the messages.

Abstract: A method of transmitting an electronic mail message addressed to a group of recipients using a group alias by temporarily excluding a member from the group alias without modifying the group alias is provided. To perform the present invention, the standard electronic mail message format further includes a field to receive the address of a member for temporarily excluding him from receiving a current message. The group alias is first resolved into a list of individual addresses from which the address to be excluded is located and temporarily removed before transmitting the message to the remaining recipients.

Abstract: A method for performing a query on records in a table is disclosed. The table has at least a first field, a second field and a third field. The query is for obtaining an aggregate result on the third field of records for at least one combination of the first and the second fields. The method includes receiving a query involving a single query statement. This query statement includes at least one built-in function corresponding to the second field of the combination. Each built-in function includes a mathematical formula that selects only a third field of records whose second field equals the second field of the combination. The method also includes executing the query statement to produce the aggregate result.

Abstract: A method of transferring a file which contains data that partially defines a page from a first computer in a computer network to a second computer for rendering the page thereon is disclosed. Data representing at least one component of the page is preloaded on a local store of the second computer. The file is downloaded onto the second computer in response to a request on the second computer. This file also contains a reference to the preloaded data. The second computer retrieves the preloaded data from the local store of the second computer using the reference and renders the page on the second computer using data in the downloaded file and the retrieved data.