Basic Mail.app question

[Westside guy]

Hey there,

I've been using Thunderbird, but decided to try Mail.app again - for my work e-mail at least. I'm running into an issue though.

When I'm reading messages, I've got them displayed in a separate message window (don't know if Mail.app has a "message preview pane", and wouldn't use it anyway). But I can't figure out how, in that message window, to havigate to the next or previous message. So I close the window, and then have to double-click on the next message in the folder mailbox listing to open read the next one. It's quite tedious, and I'm sure it's unnecessary.

I have to be missing something basic, but I am not seeing the "go to next message" option. There aren't next/previous buttons available when I try to customize the toolbar. So I know there has to be a keystroke combo... but I just don't see it in the drop-down menus!

Anyone want to point out what I'm obviously overlooking here? Thanks a lot!

 

[wwooden]

my idea

Just single click on the message so that it doesn't open into a new window. You'll see the message below and you can then use the up and down arrows to navigate to the next messages. Hope that answers your question.

 

[Westside guy]

Just single click on the message so that it doesn't open into a new window. You'll see the message below and you can then use the up and down arrows to navigate to the next messages. Hope that answers your question.

That's the message preview pane. Most mail programs have them now, but I don't really like using preview panes to read my mail. I want to read my mail messages in a separate window; hence the question. I appreciate the response though - thanks.

It's hard to believe that Apple would not have such basic functionality available - I can't think of another mail program that doesn't have this fundamental capability built in and easily accessible!

Oh well, back to Thunderbird!

 

[mkrishnan]

That's the message preview pane. Most mail programs have them now, but I don't really like using preview panes to read my mail. I want to read my mail messages in a separate window; hence the question. I appreciate the response though - thanks.

When you posted this initially, I looked, and noted that I couldn't find it either. And I couldn't find any existing plugins to add this functionality. But I think it must be something that could be done easily with Applescripts, although I don't understand the command syntax well enough myself. But basically a script that closes the active message, advance msg in the viewer window, and open a new message box.

But I do know exactly what you mean in Outlook. I personally vastly prefer the preview pane, but I know the setting you mean, and I have used it on occasion.

 

[MisterMe]

That's the message preview pane. Most mail programs have them now, but I don't really like using preview panes to read my mail. I want to read my mail messages in a separate window; hence the question. I appreciate the response though - thanks.

It's hard to believe that Apple would not have such basic functionality available - I can't think of another mail program that doesn't have this fundamental capability built in and easily accessible!

Oh well, back to Thunderbird!

It would appear that Apple's design decisions conflict with your personal preferences. Apple intends that we view our mail in a single viewer window. Apple does not use the term preview pane. It uses the term separate window as an alternative to viewer window. Personally, I prefer to read each message in a separate window. Like you, I don't like the viewer window/preview pane paradigm. I particularly don't like the fact that this paradigm opens a message by merely selecting it. I can live with Mail in its current incarnation. However, it is due for significant changes in MacOS X 10.4. I am anxious to see the new Mail.

 

[Westside guy]

It would appear that Apple's design decisions conflict with your personal preferences.

I know, I know...

Basically there's no perfect mail application, so each of us finds the one that most closely meets most of our expectations. While playing around with Mail.app I did find that it did most of the nifty things that I really appreciate in Thunderbird. For example, I was unaware until today that, when you tell it not to automatically display images, Mail.app still gives you a button that will let you choose to load the images - pretty much just like T-bird (and something that both probably copied from gmail).

The one thing I really don't like about Thunderbird is it doesn't use the OS X Address Book. I understand why a cross-platform app wouldn't have that as a high priority, and I know someone actually is working on it right now; but at present it's an annoyance.

And, as I've found, Mail.app apparently has this one showstopping (to me) shortcoming. It may be addressed in the future, or perhaps I'll get motiviated to write an Applescript for it sometime; but right now this bugs me more than T-bird's address book issue. So, at least for now, I'll stick to Thunderbird.

In any case i realize that, all in all, it's a small issue that doesn't matter to the vast majority of folks.

 

[PattyE]

Has anyone figured a way to use the separate message window and advance to the next message yet?

 

[cbakar]

New Mail on Main toolbar

I really like to have an option on Mail preferences, that allows me to see the new mail alert on main toolbar.
Does anyone know something like that?

Thanks,