Our Verdict
Whereas theprevious version of Mail(included with OS X Lion ) count radically unlike from its harbinger , the new Mail 6 that comes withMountain Lionseems almost indistinguishable . In this casing , looks are n’t even remotely deceiving . With the exception of a few lowly and pleasant additions , nothing ’s changed here .
Less of an upgrade, more of an upward nudge
postal service 6.2 retains its harbinger ’s three - chromatography column port , shortcut menus , colorless icon , and amped - up lookup capabilities . you could still take messages in threaded conversations , with buttons that seem near the top of each missive in the thread for quick replying or forwarding . And it ’s just as motorcar - magically loose to import your webmail or set up Exchange accounts under the “ new ” Mail .
Hitting Command - F now trigger off Mail ’s inline find ability , allowing you to research within the text of private messages or wind conversations . Apple implemented this simple feature film with typical thoughtfulness . A figure at the right side of the hunt loge weigh how many instances of your chosen term it has find , and neighboring backwards and forward-moving pointer assist you leapfrog to each clearly spotlight word in the text . strangely , Mail does n’t list this under its newfangled feature film in the Help templet , and it ’s inhume one cascading menu deep in the program ’s Edit fare .
VIPs: The “I” stands for “invisible”
If you desire subject matter from your pet senders to come up above the clutter of a crowded inbox , you could now make them very important person . This places them in a disjoined heading in the left - hand seafaring pane , as with flagged subject matter or impertinent mailbox . It ’s a great direction to create custom mailbox for the people you care about most .
you may also expend high muckamuck - hood as a criteria for further permeate your mail in the Rules department of Mail ’s Preferences . And thanks toiCloud , when you make a contact a panjandrum on your Mac , the novel status seamlessly appears on your iPhone or iPad as well .
However , I wish this feature film were a little more spectacular in the port . To make someone a very important person , you move your cursor to the header of a substance they ’ve transmit you . A star topology seem to the left of their name ; click it makes that person a VIP . ( you’re able to also clack their name , and make them a high muckamuck from the resulting pull - down menu . )
One - click user interface element are a quite a little more useful when they are n’t invisible by nonremittal . Also , while star appear by VIPs names in the overall lean of substance , you’re able to only bring or take out their VIP status from an individual content .
Welcome! You’ve got mail!
The new Mail quietly integrate with Mountain Lion ’s apprisal as well . A new pull - down menu , thoroughly camouflaged in the General expanse of Preferences , get you trigger notifications for all substance , or only those in your Inbox , from high muckamuck or your overall Contacts , or in any of your smart mailbox . Should you bid to tailor-make this even more , Notifications have also been added as a Rules measure .
Another raw feature is actually more of a Safari addition . When you want to email someone a page you ’re browsing in Safari , Mail permit you drop dead it along as a full HTML varlet , a streamlined Reader version ( in some suit ) , a PDF , or just the schoolbook linkup .
Finally , Time Machine performance seems slightly improved in the a la mode Mail . My first attempt to look up file away messages on a Time Capsule via 802.11n wireless go so severely , it crash Mail . But when I laden Time Machine a second clip through Mail , then walked aside for a few minutes , I came back to a smooth , antiphonal itemization of my past two or three months ’ Charles Frederick Worth of inboxes . oddly , although Time Machine list numerous previous archive , I could n’t get at them . Perhaps the upgrade to Mountain Lion change Mail ’s file to make the older backups unreadable .
Bottom line
Mail remains as unchanging and tough an email client as ever , striking a pleasant balance between first-rate - simple webmail front ends and professional - grade behemoths like Outlook . The new feature alone in Mail 6 just absolve an upgrade , but as part of the whole Mountain Lion package , they fit in well .
