New compose screen trial - Page 2

chrisdamato · 12th September 2003, 10:34 PM

I love using the advanced features of fastmail.fm and the quick access to commands is something I really admire.

But, I have signed up tons of friends, relatives, and customers who are overwhelmed with the variety of buttons and options that appear on the compose and mailbox screens.

If we can preserve a simple screen for using fastmail.fm I will be able to continue hipping non-experts to the best mail system on the web!

hadaso · 12th September 2003, 11:26 PM

BUG! BUG! BUG! BUG!

Did anyone posting here really test the new "newbie" setup?

I did! I have a guest account that I use only for testing now. When I click "change" I am taken to the "personalities" screen and get an explanation of why personalities are so good. After I finish creating the personality And click save I get the following message:

Quote:

You cannot add more than 1 items at your current service level. Please see the pricing table for details.

So all I can do is hit "Cancel" and go back to the basic compose screen! No advaned options for guests! (not even the ability to manually edit the "From:" header field).

This is certainly not the way we want it!
What we need is that "change" would allow a guest user to edit the fromline. Going straight to personalities would not work for anyone who cannot or does not want an extra personality. So what we want is the "old" functionality: "change would open the "advanced" compose screen with address in a text input field. The button next to it would have to say something else and not "Personalities" that explains what it does (goes back to the simple mode). A button that promotes personalities can go near this one. If it takes the user to the personalities screen and the user is not allowed to create a second personality it would be better if it would say that when the screen opens, and not after data was entered. (In fact it would be better in several screens, such as aliases/personalities if when the screen opens the user would be notified on his/her allowance according to service level. This would have to work equally well for all co-branders.)

Now, probably we need some of the good people here to go open an extra guest account (if you don't have one already. The TOS allows one guest account per person) in order to check this beta more throughly. Anyway, I think it is a good idea for frequent posters to have a dummy guest account for testing things. Sometimes it's needed to answer questions asked on the forum!

P.S., How about an action to save the custom settings of a message in the compose screen to a new personality?
Probably at least two fastMail users would find it handy!

hadaso · 12th September 2003, 11:34 PM

Another thing:

Some users might prefer to use the "advanced" compose screen without having to have more than one personality! There are several good reasons for that (like being able to file sent email into different folders. I used this functionality before I became a member).

Not all guest users are newbies!

s a · 12th September 2003, 11:37 PM

Rob, I brought this up in the old thread. The "attach many" button is now perfectly located (right next to the attachments) however i still think it would look nicer if we called it "attach more" as a sort of natural next step after attaching 3 attachments?

a few more alternatives include,

1. "add more attachments"
2. "more attachments"
3. "attachments screen"
4. ">3 attachments"

henrico · 12th September 2003, 11:41 PM

yes, hadaso I saw the 'bug' too...

that's why I asked "what about people who are guests?" I hope Rob will solve this...

Jacobl · 12th September 2003, 11:51 PM

One issue I saw is the append notes button doesn't do anything for me. I'm using Mozilla Firebird as a browser and when I click on it there is a message saying "Please select a note to insert from the popup menu"

But there doesn't seem to be a popup menu.

hadaso · 12th September 2003, 11:59 PM

Can the logic deciding what to put in the quicklist also use the pesonality? (i.e., most frequent recipients from this particular personality chosen now? Of course "check names" or some other action would have to be performed for this to work after a different personality is chosen.)

Do we want to rename "Check names" to "refresh" (or "expand"? any other ideas?) People use it for a variety of purposes, such as uploading attachments.

And while I'm at it: can we have the custom "From:" field expand using the address book just like the To/Cc/Bcc fields? One way to use it is to be able to let family/friends (or impatient spouses) send email from our account as if it was sent from their account!

Also I would be very happy If I could send email with only Bcc (i.e., something like "undisclosed recipients" that some popular email clients put there' probably to comply with some RFC).

And perhaps instead of "-personality" we can have "-use personality" in the pull-downs that have this option (Save copy and signature).

hadaso · 13th September 2003, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jacobl
One issue I saw is the append notes button doesn't do anything for me. I'm using Mozilla Firebird as a browser and when I click on it there is a message saying "Please select a note to insert from the popup menu"

But there doesn't seem to be a popup menu.

In this case (no notes selected to be included in the pop-down) the warning message should explain that first you have to mark some or all notes in the notepad.

Jacobl · 13th September 2003, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hadaso
In this case (no notes selected to be included in the pop-down) the warning message should explain that first you have to mark some or all notes in the notepad.

Aaaah okay. Didn't know of that "Quick Note" checkbox on the notes.

petergh · 13th September 2003, 12:55 AM

Right now, when I click Reply to a message, I am sent to the compose screen, but the To: field is empty, and I have to place the cursor in a field manually.

I'm on Windows 2000/IE6.

davidbstanley · 13th September 2003, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by andornot
Rob, I brought this up in the old thread. The "attach many" button is now perfectly located (right next to the attachments) however i still think it would look nicer if we called it "attach more" as a sort of natural next step after attaching 3 attachments?

a few more alternatives include,

1. "add more attachments"
2. "more attachments"
3. "attachments screen"
4. ">3 attachments"

I have come to this discussion a little late. I also do not like the current layout of the attachements section. Personally I would be happy with a single button to take you to the attachments screen (which would also be the place for the attach from file storage options). I understand that some people like the convenience of being able to attach files from the compose screen though, so may be if necessary just have a box to attach one file and a 'More attachments' button.

snsh · 13th September 2003, 01:33 AM

To make the screen easier on the eyes, I'd like to see the gridlines collapsed by removing "cellspacing="1"" from the html. With the gridlines included, the textboxes look like they have moire because of too many horizontal lines.

And the textlabels on the left (From, To, etc.) don't really work as a header of a table anymore. Could you make the labels class td/tr instead of a th? That would keep the labels the same color as the rest of the screen, so they blend in.

Or make those labels into buttons. For example, a clickable "From" button can replace the intriguing "Custom" and "Personality" buttons. To, cc, and bcc buttons could open the address book. And the Save copy button could save drafts.

**Sherry** · 13th September 2003, 02:38 AM

I asked a Customer to look at the beta last night without saying what to look for or anything else. She became a Member more than a year ago but doesn't use FM. (only logs in now and then to keep it active) She emailed this to me this morning.

Quote:

The regular page of fast-mail compose mail looks too busy with a multitude of buttons, a few whose function I couldn't discern such as the "personality buttons." But the beta page is cleaner. I especially like the "change" button that lets you change your "sent from" email address. That's a cool addition.

Sherry

cwofford · 13th September 2003, 02:42 AM

i think address book groups should be able to be listed in the quick list.

and i still don't see a reason for having 2 send and cancel buttons.

otherwise, great job!

henrico · 13th September 2003, 03:02 AM

after comparing to other services:

why is it not possible to go from To, Cc an Bcc right to the address book? a simple link...it's already possible at mail2world (javascript) and you don't need the address book button...

12th September 2003, 10:34 PM	#16
chrisdamato Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 65	"Advanced mode" I love using the advanced features of fastmail.fm and the quick access to commands is something I really admire. But, I have signed up tons of friends, relatives, and customers who are overwhelmed with the variety of buttons and options that appear on the compose and mailbox screens. If we can preserve a simple screen for using fastmail.fm I will be able to continue hipping non-experts to the best mail system on the web!

13th September 2003, 12:55 AM	#25
petergh Master of the @ Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Denmark Posts: 1,160	Bug! Right now, when I click Reply to a message, I am sent to the compose screen, but the To: field is empty, and I have to place the cursor in a field manually. I'm on Windows 2000/IE6.

13th September 2003, 01:33 AM	#27
snsh Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Boston Posts: 597	gridlines, colors, clickable "From" To make the screen easier on the eyes, I'd like to see the gridlines collapsed by removing "cellspacing="1"" from the html. With the gridlines included, the textboxes look like they have moire because of too many horizontal lines. And the textlabels on the left (From, To, etc.) don't really work as a header of a table anymore. Could you make the labels class td/tr instead of a th? That would keep the labels the same color as the rest of the screen, so they blend in. Or make those labels into buttons. For example, a clickable "From" button can replace the intriguing "Custom" and "Personality" buttons. To, cc, and bcc buttons could open the address book. And the Save copy button could save drafts. Last edited by snsh : 13th September 2003 at 07:23 AM.

13th September 2003, 02:42 AM	#29
cwofford Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 18	quick list to include groups? i think address book groups should be able to be listed in the quick list. and i still don't see a reason for having 2 send and cancel buttons. otherwise, great job!

13th September 2003, 03:02 AM	#30
henrico Essential Contributor Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 421	after comparing to other services: why is it not possible to go from To, Cc an Bcc right to the address book? a simple link...it's already possible at mail2world (javascript) and you don't need the address book button... Last edited by henrico : 13th September 2003 at 03:14 AM.

12th September 2003, 11:34 PM	#18
hadaso The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Holon, Israel. Posts: 4,484	Another thing: Some users might prefer to use the "advanced" compose screen without having to have more than one personality! There are several good reasons for that (like being able to file sent email into different folders. I used this functionality before I became a member). Not all guest users are newbies!

12th September 2003, 11:37 PM	#19
s a Master of the @ Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,910	Rob, I brought this up in the old thread. The "attach many" button is now perfectly located (right next to the attachments) however i still think it would look nicer if we called it "attach more" as a sort of natural next step after attaching 3 attachments? a few more alternatives include, 1. "add more attachments" 2. "more attachments" 3. "attachments screen" 4. ">3 attachments"

12th September 2003, 11:41 PM	#20
henrico Essential Contributor Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 421	yes, hadaso I saw the 'bug' too... that's why I asked "what about people who are guests?" I hope Rob will solve this...

12th September 2003, 11:51 PM	#21
Jacobl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 191	One issue I saw is the append notes button doesn't do anything for me. I'm using Mozilla Firebird as a browser and when I click on it there is a message saying "Please select a note to insert from the popup menu" But there doesn't seem to be a popup menu.

12th September 2003, 11:59 PM	#22
hadaso The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Holon, Israel. Posts: 4,484	Can the logic deciding what to put in the quicklist also use the pesonality? (i.e., most frequent recipients from this particular personality chosen now? Of course "check names" or some other action would have to be performed for this to work after a different personality is chosen.) Do we want to rename "Check names" to "refresh" (or "expand"? any other ideas?) People use it for a variety of purposes, such as uploading attachments. And while I'm at it: can we have the custom "From:" field expand using the address book just like the To/Cc/Bcc fields? One way to use it is to be able to let family/friends (or impatient spouses) send email from our account as if it was sent from their account! Also I would be very happy If I could send email with only Bcc (i.e., something like "undisclosed recipients" that some popular email clients put there' probably to comply with some RFC). And perhaps instead of "-personality" we can have "-use personality" in the pull-downs that have this option (Save copy and signature).