| 摘要 |
A computer system coordinates the receipt of incoming messages, such as electronic mail (email) and/or voice mail messages, from third parties with a user's computer-based personal scheduler to automatically forward outgoing messages to the third parties based upon the unavailability of the user. In one embodiment, for email messages, upon the receipt of an incoming email message from a third party, the user's computer-based email application accesses information previously stored in the user's computer-based personal scheduler to determine the current availability of the user and automatically sends an appropriate outgoing email message to the third party when the user is unavailable. The amount and type of information contained within the outgoing email message may depend on the type of current activity stored in the user's personal scheduler and/or the source of the incoming message. The present invention can also be implemented in the context of processing incoming telephone calls, where a voice mail system automatically accesses information from the callee's personal scheduler to determine the availability of the callee and select an appropriate outgoing greeting message to be played to the caller. In alternative embodiments, the personal scheduler configures the user's electronic and/or voice mail systems based on information stored in the personal scheduler, prior to the receipt of an incoming message or call.
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