New compose screen trial

[Sherry]

I asked the "newbie" user, who emailed the above response to the beta, if they setup a Personality when they checked out the beta. She said no, she couldn't figure out how to do that. (it's very unusual to dbl click on what appears to be "plain text" (<Create New>) and have it do anything.
Suggestion:
Instead of the Change button going straight to the Personality page, it takes you to the page where you can edit the from OR click on the Personality button that was there before. (only it would say "Create Personality"
On the Personality page instructions, it would start with saying it can not be used by guest. At the end of it, it would say to double click on <create new>. When finishes, click on save. (or something like that)

Sherry

[s a]

I suggest that we have two versions of the compose screen (i know this was suggested before..)

The first will have only the essential features, and will used by novices,

a. To address
b. subject, cc and bcc lines
c. 3 attachemnets
d. spell check

This version will auto "save copy" sent items and will have "no signature"

This will be a very uncluttered, easy to use interface for those timid users.

With a single tick of a box will appear the monstrous feature filled compose screen we know and love.

I realize this involves work (options to switch between the screens) but this philosophy will help fastmail in the long run.

Who's afraid of the big bad interface....

[m-t]

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

I value having two sets of these for the same reason I value having a light switch at one end of the room at one doorway and a duplicate light switch at the other end by the other doorway, both controlling the same light. Convenience. Having two sets of these buttons on the compose page is likewise convenient. It also costs nothing technically, practically nor esthetically.

[sky]

There are some problems with the current design of the "change" button.

1) Guess cannot create more personalites. It would frustrate them for directing them to the personality screen and they find out they can't create any.

2) Personality is a new and hard to learn concept for most people new to FM. It is because personality is not really a "standard" email feature. Almost no other email services provide it.

3) There is something weird about the flow. Say you are in the middle of composing an email. Then you click change to go to the personality screen. Then you learn about personality. Then you learn about the personality screen interface. Then you investigate the advantages of the other accounts to decide whether you should upgrade to take advantage of personality. Then you go back to finsih your original message. This flow is kinda awkward.

[m-t]

Originally posted by andornot
I suggest that we have two versions of the compose screen (i know this was suggested before..)

The first will have only the essential features, and will used by novices,

a. To address
b. subject, cc and bcc lines
c. 3 attachemnets
d. spell check

This version will auto "save copy" sent items and will have "no signature"

This will be a very uncluttered, easy to use interface for those timid users.

...

I maintain my humble opinion that as long as people are able to discern those items, a,b,c, & d, somewhere on the screen - and I am confident they will be able to do this because those items are labeled clearly enough... and providing they have at least a crude understanding of the English language, they should have no trouble at all using the essential features, whether the additional buttons are visible or not. For this reason, not only would I consider a dual compose page a lot of unnecessary effort, but it also most likely would ensure that most users would not discover and appreciate the special features such as "format" (a REALLY neat feature all by itself by the way, as far as I'm concerned).

A danger I see in removing the ability to control, and monitor at-a-glance, the Save Outgoing Message function and replacing this ability with an auto-save function, is that a lot of outgoing messages would be saved by people who don't necessarily want to save them, which would waste server space. I do feel that a person should be able to set a default for this function (hotmail does not let you do that, which to me is BAD), and that the user should be able to monitor that default, at-a-glance, and/or change it, or override it, right from the compose screen.

[s a]

Originally posted by m-t
For this reason, not only would I consider a dual compose page a lot of unnecessary effort, but it also most likely would ensure that most users would not discover and appreciate the special features such as "format" (a REALLY neat feature all by itself by the way, as far as I'm concerned). I do feel that a person should be able to set a default for this function (hotmail does not let you do that, which to me is BAD), and that the user should be able to monitor that default, at-a-glance, and/or change it or override it, right from the compose screen.

I actually agree with everything you say. But i think a large portion of this and the previous thread were devoted to discussing how cluttered and how complicated the screen looked.

I think a button that says "turn on advanced features" and allows you to toggle between a very simple interface and the present interface may be a welcome change.

[m-t]

Originally posted by andornot
I actually agree with everything you say. But i think a large portion of this and the previous thread were devoted to discussing how cluttered and how complicated the screen looked.

I think a button that says "turn on advanced features" and allows you to toggle between a very simple interface and the present interface may be a welcome change.

Thanks for reminding me about a post on the previous page or two. I truly believe that the following sort of thing, not less buttons, would go a much longer way toward effecting a less cluttered look:

Originally posted by snsh
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.

It is also for this reason that I like the "smart blue" sheet over "professional blue." The fields seem better delineated to my eyes, partly because they are more tightly grouped together and there is less confusion about what the lines are.

[pcs]

Originally posted by andornot

I think a button that says "turn on advanced features" and allows you to toggle between a very simple interface and the present interface may be a welcome change.

I think that the above Idea is the right one. A simple button (perhaps in the account preferences area) that allows the user to switch between a simple and advanced interface, would be more intuitive.

That said, I think that the current beta compose screen is on the right track.

[Prognathous]

Here's a screenshot of my preferred compose screen (a heavily modified beta9):

http://forums.ort.org.il/files/30/1835816/2291272.png

* I followed snsh's suggestion and removed the Address Book Button. To, CC and BCC are now buttons that provide the same functionality.

* The "From..." button is used to freely edit the Fromline. If the user has personalities, the Fromline is a drop-down menu, if not, its a simple textbox with one entry.

* Format returns to Actions. Less "clutter-at-first-sight" (CAFS™).

* Notes and Signatures are logically related to each other. Both are at the bottom of the page.

* Save Copy remains, but is now tucked at the bottom of the page to reduce CAFS even more.

* The whole attachment process is greatly simplified and the Attach Many screen is no longer needed. How so? A single scrollable listbox can display any number of attachments. Only two buttons are actually needed: Browse and Remove. After browsing to the file/s they should appear in the list immediately. Actual upload can be done when the users presses "Send". IMHO, this solution is both scalable, and consistent (no longer is there a different behavior for 3 and 4 attachments).

All in all, only one Compose screen is needed for both advanced and novice users

Prog.

[MZRascoff]

Prog, I really like your compose screen. Very much!

[fmfan]

Favor few to several suggestions of
'Basic' | 'Advanced' buttons on Compose webpage for
'Basic' | 'Advanced' Compose layouts & options on Compose webpage
OR
ONE cleaned-up version - Prognathous' ?

[sky]

Prognathous, thank you so much for making this wonderful screenshot. This compose screen design is awesome.

The attachment layout was exactly what I have been suggesting. It is very neat and takes less space. There were people who didn't like this idea and I hope they would change their mind after they see how well it is implemented on this screenshot.

I have also suggested moving the save copy and signature to the bottom of the page. And they look very nice in this screenshot.

I also like the fact the the word "personality" never appear on the compose screen, while retaining all the functionality. This would eliminate a lot of comfusion for newbies.

Very excellent work Prognathous!!

[Terry]

That's reaaly nice.......

[Sherry]

Prognathous,
You did a wonderful job on the compose screen. You have made it very easy to use. I would like to bring up 2 possible problems.

1. I don't think the average user will know to click on the To: etc. buttons. Some have been using OE for years and still don't know that can be done. I didn't think it looked "cluttered" with all the bottoms on the right because they all made sense to me. (I wasn't confused by them). I would worry that users may just keep typing in the addresses (because Guest can't email support about not having an address book) until they get tired of it and leave FM.

2. Your compose screen looks so good that a user may continue to use it without ever knowing what their missing. The best part of the compose screen (I think) is being able to send from a different address. I think we need a way to entice them to learn about Personalities. Maybe have prominent button that says [Create A Personality] that takes them to the personality page.
(maybe even a special button on each of the FM screens that take them to a special feature for that screen (mailbox, notes etc.)

Sherry

EDIT: I forgot to mention your Attach area. It's GREAT. The first time I sent an attachment from FM, it took forever to figure out what I was doing and I worried if it would be sent. Your's would have been so easy to use.

[Terry]

Can you do HTML as well ??????????