Graphical user interface for displaying attributes of received messages

The present invention provides a graphical user interface for a telecommunications system preferably forming an integrated answering system (115) having a display means (1) comprising a television receiver (101) and an input control device (3) comprising a hand-held remote control (125). The answering system (115) is coupled to a telephone network (4) to provide a communications medium in addition to one or more devices such as a telephone and an attached printer. The graphical user interface comprises a message screen (206) displayed on the television receiver (101) for displaying, at a glance, the attributes of a plurality of audio, video, data and/or script messages (29). The message screen (206) is broken down into a message information frame (6) for displaying pertinent information for a plurality of messages (29) and an output control frame (8) for displaying the controls and related information needed to manipulate their output. The information frame (6) presents the attributes of the messages (29) in a sequential ordering of message entries, preferably chronological, from line-to-line. These attributes may include among other things an associated message number (207), a calling party identifier (209), a message status indicator (211), the time (213) and date (215) of the message (29) in addition to a message icon (217) that graphically portrays the type and size of the message (29). The control frame (8) comprises in the preferred embodiment a plurality of graphically represented output function buttons (85) to be used in conjunction with a remote control (125) having the same arrangement of function buttons (611) for selecting messages (29) to be output and for manipulating the actual output of the messages (29). When a message (29) is selected, the message icon (217) is displayed within the control frame (8) and can be manipulated by the remote control (125) to control the output of the messages (29).