Hello Dave, > That is, a user wanting to scan and re-scan the set of active folders and > dive into one or another according to whims of the moment. And then jump > back out and look for the next one to dive into. It would be enormously > helpful to know which folders have "new" messages and which do not.
I think I understand what you mean and, as I had a similar feeling months ago, I will tell you what I have done just in case it is of any help. I make extensive use of filters like many other people. But perhaps differently to others I have many more Read and Reply filters than Incoming ones. Of course I also use Outgoing filters. I will briefly explain my "philosophy" and, then, if you want me to expand any detail I will. Incoming filters. What I try to achieve with the Incoming filter set is to differentiate on the "importance" of incoming messages and only get a warning (sound) when I get a message that I should read (and perhaps reply to) quite immediately. How? My first two filters look for Ignored threads (messages from mail list that 'belong' to threads I'm not interested in) and SPAM. Then I have a number of filters for mailing list a aliases (support, sales, etc.) that I normally don't need to reply to and that I can read on spare time. Then I have my Known filter, that moves messages to a folder I have called "Inbox-Known" so I can assign an specific sound to it. And very important here is that I have very carefully made groups in my AB and selected them for this filter. And the last filter is called "New Unknown" that moves messages (any message left in Inbox) to my Inbox-Unknown folder and with a different sound. So, when new messages arrive (I connect to my server every 5 minutes) any "important" message that may require my immediate attention ends up either in "My Inbox" or "Inbox-Unknown" folder, the not important ones in their respective folders and the Inbox (the normal and default Inbox) is *empty* So what do I do when I hear one or both of my two 'magic sounds'?. I first go to My Inbox (and after to the Inbox-Unknown one) and look for unread message and start reading them. In this folder I don't use any thread view and sort by created time (last at bottom). So, when I am reading messages in My Inbox is where my Read filters have to do the job. Before I forget, let me say that I manually mark messages as read *once* and only once I have read them. Read filters. My first Read filter is called "Must Reply", wonder why? When I read a message and I have to reply to it I don't do it while in this folder, My Inbox. I flag it (the red flag) and then, when I manually mark it as read, if the messages if flagged the filter moves it to a "Must Reply" folder and, if not flagged, it continues processing with the rest of Read filters that eventually sort (move and file) already read messages to appropriate folders. My second Read filter is called "Must Reply (Inbox Unknown)". And guess what it does! Exactly the same than the first one. The difference is that the source folder is Inbox-Unknown instead of My Inbox. And as already mentioned, the rest of the Read filters move messages to appropriate folders (usually for specific people or companies, etc.) and the last one, if a message ever gets to it, moves messages to a "Possible Trash" folder. So, the idea is that if I have any "important" messages Unread, they will be either in MyInbox or Inbox-Unknown folders. And that once I have read them all, both folders will be empty and read messages will be either in Must Reply folder or appropriately filed. And before explaining my Replied filters setup, I must say that I also use "Must Reply" folder as "Must Review" (or re-read) folder. Replied Filters. The idea here is that once I get to my "Must Reply" folder and reply to a message it is moved and filed to the appropriate folder. The reply will go to the same folder by means of Outgoing filters. The first filter in this set is called "Follow Up" and, very similarly to "Must Reply" Read filter, if when a messages is replied it is flagged it will be moved to a "Follow Up" folder. Quite obviously, the rest of the Replied filters is basically a duplication of Read filters to move and file replied messages to appropriate folders. Finally, Outgoing filters are basically the same as those in Read and Replied to move and file outgoing messages to appropriate folders. I must admit it took me a while to think and design this setup, but I have used it for some six months now and I am very satisfied with it. It has proven very efficient for my needs. -- Best regards, Miguel A. Urech (El Escorial - Spain) Using The Bat! v1.61 ________________________________________________ Current version is 1.61 | "Using TBUDL" information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
