bhuvan wrote:
>...
> messages for multiple accounts. A checkbox in each (POP and IMAP)
> server panel with pref "Log onto this account at startup of mail"
>...
> (66460 ), having a checkbox on the AccountCentral page that says "Next
> time, take me to the Inbox directly" or something similar would help
>...
This seems like a gradual process of repeatedly adding features, each
one designed to patch up the problems caused by the previous one. I
wasn't here at the time, but I would guess this is the same process by
which the UI of the Search function and the Forms Manager in Navigator
got into the embarrassing states they are in today.
You are gambling that each new addition will improve usability, but
since you are adding complexity, you are gambling at worse and worse
odds each time.
Problem:
Some people are confused when they first open the mail window, the
account is selected in the folder pane, and nothing is displayed in
the thread or message panes.
Implemented solution:
Design a high-falutin' `Account Central' page, which duplicates
functions in the menus and toolbar -- with the inevitable result
that some users will be permanently slowed by forever thinking that
they *have* to come here to access those functions. (That wouldn't
be bad in itself, were it not for the fact that going to Account
Central to do these things is vastly slower than accessing them by
any of the other methods.)
Alternative solution:
Select the Inbox, rather than the account, when the mail window is
first opened. In the rare event that the user does choose the
account level, show a simple summary of the folders/groups in that
account, with the number of read and unread messages in each.
Problem:
Some people like their mail to be checked automatically when they
open a mail window. Other people don't.
Implemented solution:
Have a per-account pref for whether or not an account is checked at
startup. To completely remove all possibility of the user
understanding this behavior, have different defaults for this pref
with different types of account.
Alternative solution:
If the user is in online mode when they open their mail window, then
check their mail in all their accounts. If they're in offline mode,
then don't. (As I said before, online/offline mode should be
persistent between invocations of an application, but should not be
shared across Mozilla applications.) Provide keyboard shortcuts for
checking mail in all accounts (Ctrl+Shift+T) or just the selected
folder (or Inbox of the selected account) (Ctrl+T).
--
Matthew `mpt' Thomas, Mozilla user interface QA
Mozilla UI decisions made within 48 hours, or the next one is free
