Outlook might be enhanced to find email attachments without opening those emails, according to Microsoft patent

The technology would work with other email channels, as well, such as Gmail.

3 min. read

Published onJuly 2, 2024

published onJuly 2, 2024

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Do you know the feeling of searching through countless emails, looking for an important attachment but hiding somewhere in your inbox? It seems Microsoft has also been thinking about this common problem.

The Redmond-based tech giant’s latest patent describes a technology capable of doing that: allowing you to search through email attachments without opening those emails. This approach simplifies finding attachments, as going through every email is unnecessary.

The main part of this invention is showing search suggestions in a messaging application, including attachments. It’s like when you write a question in your email app and get suggestions that show related emails and attachments linked to those messages. So, it could let you avoid email and direct access to documents, images, or files necessary for you.

The proposed search results might also bring up attachments from other sources besides the messaging application. So, for example, if you are using a Microsoft email client on Outlook and have gotten some attachments through another channel, but it’s still related to what you’re searching for, that could show up in your results, too. This widens your search area and guarantees that no possibly helpful files are overlooked.

But how does it work? When messages come in from a messaging app, they’re managed in a way that allows the application to do queries without needing to look at each message. If you type a query for an attachment specifically, the application will suggest something with at least one attachment received via message.

Another interesting part of this patent is the user interface it suggests. It’s made to show suggested search results and find email attachments while allowing users to interact with these attachments directly. For instance, choosing an attachment from the proposed search results can open it in an associated application, such as a word processor or spreadsheet viewer, right next to the email message that came with it. This might be a big change for getting work done, making it possible to find and open important documents faster, which could lead to more efficient work.

Microsoft’s patent discusses making it easier for us to handle our emails and their attachments. The potential of finding email attachments quickly and straightforwardly could greatly decrease both the time and annoyance associated with locating certain files within our inboxes.

This technology might be helpful for professionals dealing with many documents or individuals wanting to organize their email better, providing an answer to a common issue.

You can read the full paperhere.

In other news, another patent revealed that Microsoft is working to enhanceTeams with a name mispronunciation detector, meaning you won’t have to spell your colleagues’ names wrong anymore.

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Outlook might be enhanced to find email attachments without opening those emails, according to Microsoft patent