#49 suggestions for mail reader
These suggestions are mostly based on WinCE's mail reader.
- when we click show column names the state should be
saved. I mean, if I want the column names shown I
shouldn't have to click the icon every time! Also the
width of the columns should be saved.
- The current way of listing messages is not so good.
For landscape use it is almost ok, although the date
string should be drastically reduced to just HH:MM
AM/PM if date refers to day, maybe just the day of the
week if it refers to the current week and, DD-MM-YYYY
if none of the above applies. (like ximian evolution!)
For portrait use it is a mess! :) In both modes you
should end fields with ... like in evolution otherwise
it is hard to tell were one field ends and the other
starts.
Especially in portrait mode maybe each message
should have two lines available, From:/To: field and
Date on top and subject line bellow (like in WinCE) it
is far easier to read that way.
Finally, you could add an icon on the left of each
message ('steal' evolution's) with two purposes:
1- allow user two click there to view the
message, i think it is a more natural way to read
messages while allowing the user to click on the other
fields to just select the message.
2 - display the message state: (un)read,
replied, forwarded, etc..)
- you should a new drop-down button, like the one you
use for sync for sorting type (ascending/descending
date, etc...)
- maybe another button like that for setting message
state: (un)read
- IMO, you could use the window title to display the
number of new/old/total (?) messages in the current
folder. That would a nice usage of space. That space
seems to me pretty unused (wasted!).
- there should be an undelete button in the Trash folder.
- this suggestion is probably overkill and probably
should be considered for storm 2.x :-) but storm could
have support for multiple accounts (there for maybe
several folder hierarchies), filtering, etc.. hmm..
will anyone actually storm for mail this seriously?
maybe not :-) but maybe they will with these features :)
- the preview message thing is nice, but it shouldn't
be needed to restart storm and the user should be able
to adjust the size of the preview pane (and the size
should be saved in the settings).
- when composing a new message more fields should be
available (in a new dialog perhaps) like Cc: Bcc: and
custom fields.
- The from: subject: date: fields in the preview pane
should be a bit like evolution's perhaps :)
- The preview pane should show the To: field instead of
From: when in Outbox/Sent/Drafts :-)
- That '-- ' in the signatures should be optional or
maybe inexistant because we can add that if we want in
the preferences along with our signature.
- The compose and read message dialogs should be improved.
IMHO, the contacts button would look better on the
right (like in evolution)
The way the input fields are organized right now
looks ugly. IMHO, you should pack them into a GTK table
so that they become aligned.
In the read message dialog you could that drop-down
button I mentioned for changing the message status and
other actions you come up with. :-)
- An option for a fixed width font in the message view
could be useful. But maybe not with the size of the
iPAQ screen. But you could add that as an option.
- Those scrollbars that show up when they aren't needed
are a bit annoying but that is a minor thing :-) (it's
ME who's being annoying)
Pheww.. i can't think of anymore suggestions. heading
to the appointments section now :-) I'll add a comment
if I come up with more.
