[MlMt] Layouts with Non-Columnar Formatting
MailMate has a customizable layout engine that allows for all kinds of variations, but if I'm not mistaken, the panel devoted to listing email messages is limited to a strict spreadsheet-style row and column format. Many mail clients, while still listing messages row by row, allow the formatting of "column" data to be more varied within each row. For instance, the sender may be listed _above_ the message title, with the time right-aligned on the same line as the sender. Perhaps a snippet is included below the title, rather than in a separate column. Is there any chance that such a more flexible layout might come to MailMate? ___ mailmate mailing list mailmate@lists.freron.com http://lists.freron.com/listinfo/mailmate
Re: [MlMt] Layouts with Non-Columnar Formatting
On 1 Dec 2015, at 1:22, Gary Hull wrote: MailMate has a customizable layout engine that allows for all kinds of variations, but if I'm not mistaken, the panel devoted to listing email messages is limited to a strict spreadsheet-style row and column format. Correct. Many mail clients, while still listing messages row by row, allow the formatting of "column" data to be more varied within each row. For instance, the sender may be listed _above_ the message title, with the time right-aligned on the same line as the sender. Perhaps a snippet is included below the title, rather than in a separate column. I think it's usually two completely separate modes. In other words, it's either a single column with rich data or multiple columns with simple data per column. (A combination probably wouldn't work well.) Is there any chance that such a more flexible layout might come to MailMate? There's a chance, but I haven't done any work on it yet (and it's a major change/feature). -- Benny ___ mailmate mailing list mailmate@lists.freron.com http://lists.freron.com/listinfo/mailmate
Re: [MlMt] Layouts with Non-Columnar Formatting
On 2 Dec 2015, at 0:15, Benny Kjær Nielsen wrote: There's a chance, but I haven't done any work on it yet (and it's a major change/feature). The reason that this occurred to me is that I was reading a detailed review of Macintosh mail applications where MailMate was declared "The Best Third-Party Email Client for Power Users," which in this case was sort of the bronze medal, since a couple of other apps were recommended for normal people: http://thesweetsetup.com/apps/favorite-email-client-os-x/ The review at one point says, "The interface is very functional, but also pretty boring. If looks are important to you, you won’t like MailMate." I decided to take a close look at the two apps also reviewed as well as the Apple Mail app to see exactly how they were considered better designed. And in the end I think it's 80 percent the fact that the designers were not constricted by the spreadsheet limitation in the mail list. If users could do a sort of CSS style spec in designing that, they could duplicate most of the different things these other apps are doing. It might also help to add the ability to change a few things like white space (margins, leading) and font and icon stuff in the other panels, but it's mostly that mail list panel. So it seems to me that you could do away with "functional, but boring" reviews by liberalizing the degree to which customization could be done. At that point people would have the tools to mimic whatever design they like. Or switch among designs weekly. MailMate could become the mail application for people for whom "looks are important," so important that they want to do it themselves or choose among several well-designed variations. ___ mailmate mailing list mailmate@lists.freron.com http://lists.freron.com/listinfo/mailmate
Re: [MlMt] Layouts with Non-Columnar Formatting
On 2 Dec 2015, at 3:51, Gary Hull wrote: So it seems to me that you could do away with "functional, but boring" reviews I don't really mind having this label ;-) That doesn't mean I deliberately try to make MailMate boring, but I don't want to make something pretty if it's at the expense of making something less functional or non-standard. by liberalizing the degree to which customization could be done. At that point people would have the tools to mimic whatever design they like. Or switch among designs weekly. MailMate could become the mail application for people for whom "looks are important," so important that they want to do it themselves or choose among several well-designed variations. I think most people want something which is just pretty out-of-the-box (and not necessarily configurable), but my goal is probably very close to what you suggest. If possible (technically and performance-wise), I would like both a one-column message list and the current headers view to be based on HTML — and this would include making it as user-configurable as possible for power users. Right now my main priority is still (much) better handling of HTML when replying/forwarding. There won't be any other major changes until after that is complete. I'm just constantly side-tracked by having to deal with bugs in IMAP servers, MailMate, other email clients/services, and El Capitan. In that order and particularly the first one :-) -- Benny ___ mailmate mailing list mailmate@lists.freron.com http://lists.freron.com/listinfo/mailmate
