Enhancement request: One click to open link in a new tab & delete current email
 

I frequently get notifications about followed discussions in different forums and want to open the link to that discussion in a new background tab, and also delete the current email and view the next one. To do it currently I need to ctrl+click, then move the cursor all the way up to click the Delete button, and repeat again and again.

One only relatively-quick workaround is to middle-click and press the Delete button on the keyboard, but I find clicking the mouse wheel inconvenient, as I frequently end up scrolling the page. It would be much nicer if Fastmail had an option to both open the link and delete them mail with a single mouse click (or ctrl+click).

Thanks! :)

Assuming you have keyboard shortcuts enabled, press 'x' (select currently focused message) followed by 'd' (delete) to delete the message quickly I rarely use the mouse for routine email browsing and editing.

As far as I know, you cannot open a message in a new tab using just the keyboard. My own normal workflow is to just open ('o' or enter key) and read messages when ready to do so, deleting them with the 'd' key when done. I find it better to keep messages in the list until ready to read them, or sometimes move them to another folder for later processing ('x' select, followed by 'm' move and first few characters of the folder to move the message to)..

This sequence doesn't solve 50% of the need - opening a link.

Using the keyboard is not a requirement. I'm fine using the mouse.

I can't think of any case where I wanted to keep this notification emails. When I click the link and have it open in a background tab, I'm done with the email and have no need to ever see it again.

Do you really think it's advisable to permanently delete (or even delete normally to the Trash folder) any email when you click on any link in that message? How would you view multiple links in an email? Even if this was an option in the setup screen, it would be a support nightmare. I certainly don't want a message to be automatically deleted when I click on any link in that message!

The EMD notification messages I receive have a size of roughly 8 KB (mostly headers). The cost of storing such a message for a year is much less than 1/100 of a penny (1/10,000 of a US dollar). If that still bothers you, just use a rule to cause off such notification messages to b auto-filed in a folder and set the properties for that folder to auto-purge (such as after a week).

Bill

I obviously don't want it to work for any link in any message, but there's currently no flow that makes selection convenient. The closest I can find is to put my left index finger on the Delete button, the left pinky on the "J" button (for Next) and click the mouse wheel to open links. This way I can browse through many messages, and quickly decide if to delete the email or move to the next. It's not a very convenient setup compared to, and I'm thinking out loud, Ctrl+click to open link in a new tab, Ctrl+Shift+click to open in a new tab and move to the next email, and Alt+click to open link in a new tab, delete and move to the next email.

BTW, another option is - left pinky on "D" button for delete, and left index finger on "J" for next. This requires a slightly less the awkward position than the previous setup, I just need to get used to using "D" for delete and learn to accept the occasional inadvertent scroll that middle clicking causes.

A solution based on modifier keys combos would solve all of those concerns and would be better than anything that's available now, but I don't know if it's technically possible and I assume convincing Fastmail to implement it wouldn't be easy...

Storage is not a concern. After 16 years my 15GB Fastmail mailbox is at 41%. This is all about inbox clutter.

This is an interesting approach, but I don't know if I want to browse two folders every time I open my mailbox.

If you left click on a link, does it not open that link for reading in a new tab, returning to the original message when the tab is closed? For me, working through the messages one at a time like this, pressing 'd' (delete) on return to the original tab, is a better workflow than (what I think you are doing) opening lots of background tabs from different messages, deleting as you go, and only starting reading when you have a bunch of tabs open.

I sure hope it works like that. After reading the new tab, press control-W. You should be back at mail, so use the keyboard to delete the message.