Fastmail becoming Gmail: Calendar UI changes without notice

[bbbc]

I have elements in the calendar now appearing on the left side, that were hidden before and/or located at the top. Maybe I'm a rarity, but I don't need constant access to the mini navigation calendar, nor toggling Calendars, or my Subscriptions. I use 11" and 13" devices, like MacBooks, and this new column on the left uses valuable real estate. This is not a change that is easy for me with attention issues.

I've reached out to support and they've been cordial, but I'm doubting there will be any resolution. I've been told that the changes took place for consistency in the web UI. Sorry developers, I don't need dead elements collecting dust and rotting on one side, while taking away space from my full month view on my dinky displays. Not everyone is using a 27" or 32" monitor with your service. Their online calendar doesn't need to replicate their webmail interface to the T.

I feel Fastmail is getting more and more distant from their end users, beyond this current problem. Just sucks we didn't get any notice about what I consider radical interface changes. FM support will respond, but I think the developers and managers stay clear of their paid clients. I left Gmail because of the constant confusing webmail interface changes.

New Calender web interface:
https://postimg.cc/R6GbQNVB

Old Calendar web interace (Clean & Simple):
https://cdn-resprivacy.pressidium.co...r-1024x396.jpg

[TenFour]

Ha! I haven't really noticed many Gmail UI changes in years, other than very minor tweaks. However, I suspect that any changes FM has made were based on feedback from customers, and unfortunately they can't make everyone happy. I feel the same way about phone sizes. I really, really like smaller phones. I want one that can just slip into any pocket and be invisible as I walk about. They are almost extinct now, but I understand that what I like is not what the market wants.

[hadaso]

Actually this calendar has been on the beta app for some time (about 3 weeks).
I sent them some feedback, and I saw some changes that may have been the result of that feedback, but I don't use a screen as narrow as yours, so the slightly narrower columns were not a big problem for me.
Most of the time I use the calendar displayed in the left column in the mail view screen.

There were also slight changes to the way the folder tree (in email) works (with shared folders) in the pas month.

[TenFour]

I'm not sure it is worth it to provide feedback to most tech companies--they just ignore you! Though I have been told by a Google insider they do value feedback, it only works if you happen to be one of many millions of people pointing out the same problem.

[bbbc]

Originally Posted by TenFour

I'm not sure it is worth it to provide feedback to most tech companies--they just ignore you!

Completely cognitive of this factor. I guess it was an alright ten year run with Fastmail. Time to start shopping around for another provider.

Anymore, I feel UI/UX designers have to justify their employment and don't care about end users, especially when they're so far removed from the feedback and complaints.

[Berenburger]

My biggest disappointment in Fastmail compared to the past is that they are no longer communicative at all towards their users. It's just marketing blah blah.

[hadaso]

Originally Posted by TenFour

... it only works if you happen to be one of many millions of people pointing out the same problem.

I don't think you are "one of many millions" when you send feedback to Fastmail on change in beta (the "Send beta feedback" button on the bottom left side of the beta webmail interface, and below the list of folders in the phone app).
If you point to particular problems with new features there it's quite likely to be taken into account, as there is someone actually working on that particular feature when it is new in beta. I pointed to some inefficiencies in the way the new calendar works and this was fixed within a few days, and also to a capability that was gone from the folder tree (collapsing the folders shared by other users) and it was restored (in a slightly different way that's more compatible with the rest of the folder tree).
With Gmail probably you when you send suggestions you are one of millions, but still I think there's an element of timing: if you make a good suggestion and some developer is actually working on that feature at the time it arrives, there's a fair chance it would be considered. If no one is working on that subsystem when the suggestion is made then it would probably be lost in the archive with millions of other suggestions, unless it is exceptionally good.

[Bamb0]

Originally Posted by TenFour

Ha! I haven't really noticed many Gmail UI changes in years, other than very minor tweaks. However, I suspect that any changes FM has made were based on feedback from customers,

I dont think so.... These companies do what they wanna and say 'screw you' to everyone using it!

Im sure no one suggested removing the basic interface!!

[hadaso]

Now the left sidebar can be toggled on and of in the beta app.
(The right sidebar could always be toggled).

[bbbc]

So I've learned that the beta Calendar now has a button toggle to hide/show the sidebar and extra calendar on the left. I appreciate that the Fastmail folks listened and implemented a solution so fast.

[n5bb]

Another change in the current beta interface is in the listing of folders/labels at the left. Any folders (or labels) which are sorted to appear after the system Trash folder are separated from the standard folders and are subfolders of a new Folders (or Labels) folder. You can open Folders/Labels to see all of your folders, or close it to hide them, producing a very clean simple basic interface without the list of folders/labels. In addition, the + (new folder/label) and folder/label search icons are adjacent to that Folders/Labels top-level heading.

If you want to add a new folder/label and force it into the upper list of standard system folders, just go to Settings>Folders (or Settings>Labels), create the new folder/label, and drag it somewhere above the system Trash folder/label.

The Templates folder/label becomes a system folder/label after you add it, and it will automatically appear before Trash in the top system folders/labels.

• Messages in Templates are similar to Draft messages, but they don’t disappear when edited and sent.
• To create a message template, create a new message and save it in Drafts (where it will normally automatically be saved if you exit the Compose screen without sending or deleting the message).
• Then drag the draft message from Drafts to Templates.
• Now you can open the draft message which is located in Templates and make any needed changes to it (such as changing To or anything else). When you send that edited message the original draft in Templates will remain so it can be used again in the future. If you had instead edited and sent it using a draft message which was located in the Drafts folder/label, that draft would disappear.
• If you want to edit a draft which is in Templates, open it from Templates, make the desired changes, then be sure to click Save draft at the top. Then move it from Drafts into Templates. You can discard any old unneeded drafts in Templates by selecting and discarding them.
• The Templates folder/label is not present in a new account. You must manually create it before this feature can be used.

Bill

[hadaso]

Originally Posted by n5bb

Another change in the current beta interface is in the listing of folders/labels at the left. Any folders (or labels) which are sorted to appear after the system Trash folder are separated from the standard folders and are subfolders of a new Folders (or Labels) folder. You can open Folders/Labels to see all of your folders, or close it to hide them, producing a very clean simple basic interface without the list of folders/labels. In addition, the + (new folder/label) and folder/label search icons are adjacent to that Folders/Labels top-level heading.

For me it doesn't work like that: the collapsible "Folders" (that used to be at the top in the previous version on beta a couple of days ago, and not collapsible) is below all my folders, and above my saved searches. so it "contains" only the saved searches. I suspect that this is because the last folder in my list of folders is the system "Spam" folder that I don't use, so I moved it to the bottom and made it hidden many years ago. So perhaps the true location of the collapsible "Folders" container is after the last system folder. ... So I tested it and dragged the Spam folder to an upper position, and the "Folders" container is still under the "Spam" folder, but now includes lots of folders "in" it.
Above it are many system folders that I would really like to be in it because I either do not use them, or I rarely need to access them (and also some folders that I prefer to have above them, because I filter incoming mail to them).
So I'm quite glad that this "Folders" container is now collapsible (I asked in my beta feedback a couple of weeks ago that it would be, and also the containers of the of shared folders from other users (so when one browses mail folders of anther user one can collapse one's own folder tree which is a bit in the way). I'm a bit disappointed that I cannot shove all the system folders that I rarely have to directly access into this collapsible container.
Another difference between this collapsible container and ordinary folders is that when one drags a message to an ordinary folder that is collapsed, the subfolders are shown, so one can drop the message into subfolders, and after the message is dropped the folder returns to collapsed mode. I use this a lot: I can have most of my archive folders inside a collapsed folder and still I can easily use file messages in them. The "Folders" container doesn't work this way.

[Bamb0]

[hadaso]

Now the "folders" container is back on top and is collapsible.