Since Tiger was first unveiled last June , the Mail app program build - in to OS X has invite little notice . Mail improvements were n’t even embrace during Steve Jobs ’ preview of the operating arrangement update at last June ’s developer league . And while Mail was included among the OS X 10.4 features highlighted by Jobs during his tonic at January ’s Macworld Expo , those announced change were quickly overshadow by the other products jog out by Apple that Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
But do n’t jumble the lack of attention for a want of novel features in Mail . While the due east - ring armour client has find its share of changes since its 2001 release , nothing has been as significant as the enhancements to Mail in Tiger , which include better integration and a whole newfangled look .
The Appearance
The first matter you will find when opening Mail are the striking changes to the user interface . work is the draftsman or side jury that housed the mailboxes and folders for your email accounts — this has been replaced with a panel on the left over - mitt side of the program window . Replacing the draftsman gives Mail a much more integrated look and find , although the plus of a three - pane window increases the resemblance between Apple ’s e - mail guest and other mainstream mail applications such as Microsoft ’s Entourage or Qualcomm ’s Eudora .
The late version of Mail has a urbane look that was absent from late edition . The intimate OS X color scheme has been modified more or less give the toolbar background a self-coloured gray feel , while the background of the raw side panel is a calorie-free spicy .
The look of the push in Mail have completely changed . The standard OS Adam ikon have been replaced with a shining - looking toolbar that groups icons together based on their role — buttons to mark Es - ring armour as Read or Unread are together while Reply , Reply All , and Forward are part of another group . These can also be add to the toolbar on an individual basis if you wish .
Spotlight
Perhaps the most pregnant change to Mail in Tiger is the way it integrate OS X 10.4 ’s glare hunt technology . Using Spotlight , endless search that rely on an ever - increasing number keywords to find east - mails are a thing of the past times .
As it was with the Finder , Spotlight will start to seek for mate e - mail just as soon as you start typing in Mail ’s lookup loge . You have the option to search all mailboxes at once — in which case the results will show which mailbox a substance is located — or you could search in the ring armor leaflet you are currently browsing . you could also search the “ From , ” “ To , ” or “ capable ” theatre of operations , as well as the entire message .
A Spotlight search gives you a listing of messages that were found ground on the measure you entered ; press a message break the entire schoolbook of the substance for you to record . Spotlight also dynamically updates the lookup list as fresh post get in . So , if you do a hunt for “ Jim Dalrymple ” and I send you a new substance , the result window will be update on the fly .
Smart Mailboxes
Along with the advanced search technology , comes a agency to save atomic number 99 - mail searches for future reference . Smart Mailboxes are akin to iTunes Smart Playlists — they update themselves dynamically base on standard that you move into . Criteria can also be changed
For example , say you ’re begin a project this calendar month and want to be able to find out all due east - mail from three particular hoi polloi that will be send PDF single file as adhesion . In Tiger , you’re able to well coif up a Smart Mailbox to becharm all of these einsteinium - ring armour . By setting your criteria to only let in subject matter with PDF attachments from these specific masses , you eliminate the probability of clogging your Smart Mailbox with lunch invitation and other wasted communiques .
The next sentence you are await for something to do with that project that happened 30 days ago , you simply go to that Smart Mailbox and everything will be there .
.Mac Sync and Other Items
Apple has also sum the power to synchronize several detail in Mail with other figurer using .Mac and Tiger sync . If you have a .Mac bill , you could configure Mail to synchronize your rule , Signatures , Smart Mailboxes and write up .
In gain to .Mac sync , Apple added few other preferences to Mail . contribute Invitations to iCal can be set to automatically add invitations to Apple ’s calendar practical app . Mail also append a downloads folder which can be do by the user ; unedited downloads can be deleted or kept mechanically .
While Mail ’s Junk Mail Filter has better dramatically since Panther , the only noticeable remainder in the penchant is the addition of Perform Custom Action . This set aside the user to configure Mail to actions beyond the defaults let in in the lotion .
If you have many history and like to use a dissimilar signature on each one , you ’ll like the new signature tune preferences . The list now include each account and a place to add signatures singly , give you a much more organized panorama of your signatures .
The Last Word
Tiger introduces a dramatically improve Mail , primarily in the way the built - in program integrates with the residuum of OS X 10.4 . Other improvements , such as the young take care - and - find , enhance Junk Mail Filtering , and search capacity , make it more beguiling than ever to turn to Mail as your main vitamin E - mail customer .
[ Jim Dalrymple is the editor of Macworld.com and MacCentral.com ]
