POLL: e-mail improvement suggestions

[kees-k]

In the poll there was a suggestion to add PGP for email.
I would strongly support this suggestion, but I would even more like to support any solution that enables using email-certificates like the free ones that COMODO (or Usertrust) supplies. Look at Tbird

If that option comes available I will surely buy the Pro-version.
For now I will stick with the free version 5.01, and keep using Tbird for more official mails that can be signed and/or even encrypted.

For the other functions: all thumbs up!!
Kees-p

[norsea]

Looks like you did not try Tools-> Newsletter before posting in this thread.
I also checked Help-> Help Contents and searched "mass mail", and this feature perfectly comes up.

Yes it does.

I never ever equated a Newsletter as being something that would be associated with email that I want to send to a group of people that had absolutely nothing to do with sending out a Newsletter.

But, from what I can see, all the information that is put into the "form" for the email addresses at creation time is discarded after the message is created. This means that the email list has to be created every time a message is to be sent to the group. I created several different names to send to and for each one the created list is not there when I bring up Tools>Newsletter. The name is there on the drop down list but nothing happens when it is selected.

How do I get the email addresses back into the form for the name that was created originally?

And, I see no way to cc or bcc people using the Newsletter tool.

And there is no functionality for changing text (Bold/Italic, etc.,etc.) or for formatting the text (left justified, centered, etc., etc.).

What am I missing and/or doing wrong?

Bottom line, from what I have seen so far, the Newsletter function does NOT have functionality equal to the New Message function. This makes it a very poor tool. Sorry.

For what it is worth, I spent a lot of time going through the Help function but could find nothing associated with what I was looking for. Mass mailing has a much different meaning for me; it implies sending out mail one time to large numbers of recipients. Mass mailing sounds like spam to me. Sorry.

I want to be able to create lists of email recipients that can be used on an ongoing basis.

Yes, this is a semantic issue and helps explain why writing documentation is not the easiest task. Different words mean different things to different people. Unfortunately.

And we also get at least one message every day that suggests "one feature that will make EPIM best forever". Unfortunately those features are different all the time and authors do not look into help file nor study the program.

Yes.

From what I have read of reviews of EPim on the web what I have stated about the need for the EMail portion of EPim being in need of updating and/or having additional functionality is well documented. It is not just me who has said these things.

I am not asking for something that is specific to one thing. I am asking for the EMail tool to be updated such that it offers a minimum set of functions that are available with EMail tools that are pervasive in the marketplace; for example, MS Outlook (Ugh!) and others. As you know, I have suggested this in other threads, as have others.

While you are to be praised for doing the poll and asking input from the few customers who frequent the forums the number of participants in the forum is to few in relation to the total number of EPim customers to be statistically relevant and, more importantly it does not address the issues of people who have looked at EPim and chosen NOT to purchase the software; I have mentioned this in another thread as well.

Jim

[ralfk]

An option in the Mail Options to clear/delete the Deleted Items folder at the time the program is closed; same as is available for Trash.

Jim

Yes, this is good idea

Ralf

[marrob]

I need full exchange support !!

I'd like one offline common tree where to copy the mail i need read also where I have no connection

thanks

[ZEE]

While templates are not added to email i'd like to suggest a very simple addition to Options->Mail tab.

In RTF/HTML settings
===================
. a backcolor button (showing the selected color)
. a background-picture button showing the picture and with a dialog to select the picture plus radio buttons for single/stretch/stretch-horz/stretch-vert/repeat picture

Best regards, ZEE

[Allekz]

Just two suggestions more:

1. Make image-attachments visible at the message body.

2. Give an option to see the sending progress when a message is sent.

[norsea]

Is there a schedule/date for the next time the email module will be upgraded and information as to what the upgrade will contain?

I see that Mozilla has finally released Eudora OSE.

This would make an excellent email tool for EPIM.

From the MozillaWiki:

"Eudora OSE is the Open Source Edition of one of the internet’s most pioneering and enduring applications. It is a re-imagining and re-implementation of classic Eudora features on top of the Mozilla Thunderbird codebase. It is more than just an extension, as certain functionality required changes to the core of the application. Some of these have been accepted into and become part of Thunderbird, while others are still awaiting acceptance. Eudora OSE integrates so tightly with specific versions of the underlying code that it is highly recommended for users to install the entire application, rather than trying to run the extension on top of Thunderbird."

Thanks,

Jim

[Max]

Hello Jim,

there is no such information available to the public.

[norsea]

Hello Jim,

there is no such information available to the public.

It doesn't get more public than this:

https://wiki.mozilla.org/Eudora_OSE

Jim

[Max]

Yes, that's why it is called Open Source.

[norsea]

Yes, that's why it is called Open Source.

I'm not sure I understand your response.

I continue to think this would make a good email tool for EPIM.

Given EPIM is built on the T-Bird data base and the current email tool is about V3 of T-Bird this seems like something worth doing.

Is it possible to use this?

Is there a licensing issue with Mozilla software that I might not be aware of?

Curiously yours,

Jim

[Trinitylab]

I mean no disrespect to anyone who is working on EPim BUT, if your objective is to get EPim to be used by business people the email application really needs to be brought up to the functionality of (at least) Microsoft products (Ugh!) or better email tools.

[...]

I consider myself a very average business user. For me it is all about being cost effective. [...]

There was a poster in another thread that suggested that y'all look at some high end email tools. I don't think anyone expects EPim to have email functionality like tools that cost significant money to buy. But having functionality that is at least EQUAL that that which MS products and Thunderbird (which is free) offer should be something that is considered; and no I don't think extensions are necessary but there is a subset of extensions that should be included. Your email poll is well intended but I suspect, as I have posted elsewhere, that the scope of the poll is severely limited and the input will be insufficient.

Sorry for the rant but I really want to see EPim become a tool that will be the "best of breed" and in the market place for many years to come.

Jim

Jim, Max, I MUST agree with all above. I could have signed under this using my both hands.

So far Outlook and Lotus are the most common business tools, pity to say. Especially when in Win8 I found this [#@$!] Windows Live Mail, which is uncomparable to old but extremely easy and reliable Outlook Express.
I would love seeing EPIM, Estonian company raising into serious business communication provider, really. It is always fantastic when someone kicks Big Brother's bottom.

Max, Guys from EPIM, look at the internet about the complains that old OE is removed from Windows. Look at the other thing:
you will not find generally the articles like "free alternatives to Yahoo mail" or something. You fill find tens of serious comparisons "The best ten (free) alternatives to Outlook". It says everything where to go, and YOU have all the capabilities to copy Outlook functionality.
Imagine now, in our small company we are switching to Win8Pro. I found this WLM completely stupid and inconvenient, so what I could do for free? Of course, Tbird, even if we use Opera for security reasons.
Why not EPIM, still? Because of the lack of basic, old OE functionality. Simple, for quick business use.

Jim is damn right saying that you do not need to go into Supah Dupah extensions. If you rely on this message board you will hardly find people from medium business having time to write anything here. That is why they choose MS products. If a guy is paid 200 euro per hour he does not have time to find out why this or that does not work.

Focus on basic but stable functionality, and you will grow great.

I always check if anything will change with your email to switch to it.

Piotr

PS Even this signature attached as file in html I mentioned: O, OE, TBird have it. Consider copying such simple things.

[Trinitylab]

And another suggestion concerning email DB.
(I strongly believe you will build a good email client, really)

As Jim we keep all the email client history as well. It is good for many reasons.
Anyway, even if not kept it is always around 4 GB of emails sent yearly, no movies, just emails.

So that would enlarge terribly a regular Epim DB, having around 20GB of emails.
What if it could be separated/splitted for stability reasons?

I mean:
1. to separate email DB from regular DB, to pull it separately;
2. to be able - kind of like in TBird, OE - make a small DB from every folder. Why? Because using filtering all the correspondence with a given client goes to one folder, and it would be ease to move it from one computer to another. And to pull/add to existing email DB, if a user wants to.

I know that would change a lot. Instead of having one DB you would have to have one folder with current DBases.
But the option RMB on folder, "Separate this folder and subfolders as DB" could do the job, and would absolutely secured stability - I cannot imagine working on 20GB database.

Just the idea.

All the best, Max,
Piotr

[Mel]

And another suggestion concerning email DB.

I mean:
1. to separate email DB from regular DB, to pull it separately;
2. to be able - kind of like in TBird, OE - make a small DB from every folder. Why? Because using filtering all the correspondence with a given client goes to one folder, and it would be ease to move it from one computer to another. And to pull/add to existing email DB, if a user wants to.

I struggle with average 25000 emails per year (by Eudora statistics). Being able to split e-mail folders into separate dbases would finally convince me to use epim's e-mail module, I think. Similar reason here - each project has its own folder that on completion is archived together with project files. I don't have to load it each time my email client starts but I need such structure to remain searchable.
+1 from me for Trinitylab ideas.
-- M.

[norsea]

And another suggestion concerning email DB.

I mean:
1. to separate email DB from regular DB, to pull it separately;
2. to be able - kind of like in TBird, OE - make a small DB from every folder. Why? Because using filtering all the correspondence with a given client goes to one folder, and it would be ease to move it from one computer to another. And to pull/add to existing email DB, if a user wants to.

I struggle with average 25000 emails per year (by Eudora statistics). Being able to split e-mail folders into separate dbases would finally convince me to use epim's e-mail module, I think. Similar reason here - each project has its own folder that on completion is archived together with project files. I don't have to load it each time my email client starts but I need such structure to remain searchable.
+1 from me for Trinitylab ideas.
-- M.

I think one of the best things that Eudora has to offer is the ease with which email "folders" could be dealt with; they were in plain text and could be moved very easily. But having said that, Eudora has always been the best (IMNSHO) email tool on the market. Too bad Qualcom stopped support. But, it is nice that Mozilla has taken the software and merged it with the T-Bird base.

I agree that functionality like ease of email message movement, which is what you both are proposing, would be an outstanding addition to EPIM functionality.

It is also nice to see some others who deal with large volumes of email join in the debate...

Jim