New Gmail lab feature: Refresh POP accounts
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
If you have configured one or more POP3 accounts in Gmail, then you'll love this new lab feature:
Turn on "Refresh POP accounts" from the Labs tab under Settings, and the refresh link at the top of your inbox will not only update your inbox with your new Gmail messages, it will also fetch messages from any other accounts which you have set up.
Mailplane 2.1.5 released
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Release notes:
- NEW: Support for the new and fast Gmail "separate" windows (more information).
- FIX: PDF menu item wasn't created on Mailplane installation
- FIX: Growl notifications didn't open in the main window when the main window was hidden.
- FIX: Adobe Flash 10.1 beta 3 prevented attachments uploads.
- FIX: Memory leak when using drag and drop
- FIX: Inbox or separate window could become grey after a drag and drop operation
- FIX: Initial URL for Gmail didn't always have the correct scheme
- FIX: Separate window didn't close after archive, delete, or report spam.
- CHANGE: Removed custom WebKit nightly frameworks as the Google has fixed the "duplicating chat box" problem.
- FIX: open location in AppleScript didn't work
- FIX: Typo in help menu
Fast “separate” Gmail windows
Great news for Mailplane users: "Separate" Gmail windows got much faster! Try the File > New Separate menu item or shift-click a conversation in the Gmail overview list to see the difference.
Here's more info from the official Gmail blog:
One of the lesser-known features of Gmail is its ability to help with multitasking. Frequently, I find that I need to find an old message while I'm composing an email. When this happens, I click on the "new window" icon to pop my compose area into its own window:
There's only one problem — it's been slow! Today, we're rolling out a change that will fix this (reload your account to make sure you get this change). Now, popping out a window is much, much faster. No more "Loading..." progress bar.
There are a number of places you can pop up new windows in Gmail.
- In chat, there's the little upward arrow in the title bar:
- When writing a message, hold the "Shift" key while you click on the Compose Mail, Reply, Reply All or Forward links and you'll get a new window for your new message. (Holding the "Shift" key while typing the keyboard shortcut — in other words typing "C" "R" or "F" — has the same effect.)
- When you're reading your mail, hold the "Shift" key while you click on a message to open the conversation in a new window. (Same holds true for the "Shift" key and the "o" or "Enter" shortcuts.)
- If you're reading an email and want to save it for later, you can click the "New window" link in the upper-right hand corner of the conversation view:
Gmail • Tips and Tricks • (2) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Gmail Labs graduation and retirement
Until now, the list of Gmail lab features was growing and growing. A few days ago, Google has shortened the list by graduating and retiring some lab features.
Graduating:
These features are now part of the standard Gmail user interface:
- Search Autocomplete
- Go To Label
- Forgotten Attachment Detector
- YouTube Previews
- Custom Label Colors
- Vacation Dates
Retiring:
Some lab features have completely been removed:
- Muzzle
- Fixed Width Font
- Email Addict
- Location in Signature
- Random Signature
Mailplane supports Google Buzz
Monday, February 15, 2010
Exciting news for Gmail users: Google Buzz is here! It allows you to share updates, links, photos, and videos with your friends and/or the world:
As Google Buzz is part of Gmail, it is fully supported by Mailplane. Just enable Buzz using the Buzz promo screen and then click the "Buzz" link in the sidebar to post an update.
What if you don't get the promo page? The Buzz promo screen automatically shows up when you start Mailplane or switch to an account. If you are using "Offline Gmail", you need to enable buzz in your preferred web browser. The use the Mailplane > Reset Gmail Session menu item to see the Buzz sidebar item in Mailplane.
More information about Google Buzz:
Announcements • Gmail • (4) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Improved Google Search in Labs
Google has improved the "Google Search" lab feature in Gmail. You can now "google" for dictionary definitions, do calculations, search for local stuff and get weather forecasts.
Plus: You can search for selected text directly from a message composition.
Mailplane 2.1.4 released
Friday, January 29, 2010
- NEW: AppleScript/OutgoingMessage property for picture optimization: optimizeAttachments.
- FIX: Command-L and other keyboard shortcuts/buttons didn't work anymore (caused by Gmail changes).
- FIX: Apply/Remove label didn't filter with the current search text when re-opened.
- FIX: HTML signature above quoted text didn't work with the "Default Text Styling" lab feature.
- FIX: Under some circumstances the drag and drop message didn't disappear.
- FIX: iPhoto plugin removal didn't completely restore to the previous state
- FIX: Separate window and print window didn't always have a title.
- FIX: Drag/Drop to app icon didn't always optimize pictures.
AppleMatters: Problems Solved
Bakari Chavanu published a very nice review about Mailplane and another application called Webnote. Both apps solved some problems he was experiencing. With Mailplane he solved these:
Before I downloaded and started using Mailplane, checking my Gmail accounts was nothing short of a pain. I tried having selected emails in my accounts forwarded to my desktop Apple Mail client, but I ended up not liking that approach simply because I wanted to keep my Google accounts separate from my MobileMe accounts.
Checking Gmail online was also not a joy because I couldn’t use shortcut keystrokes and the awesome time-saving SteerMouse plug-in to quickly navigate email messages in the online client.
“Real Uses” blog: Interview about Mailplane
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Michael A. Crane interviewed me about Mailplane: How the project got started, what the product is all about, and developer life in general. Check out the interview on his blog.
Engadget: 10 outdated elements of desktop operating systems
Monday, January 25, 2010
Paul Miller wrote a very interesting and inspiring editorial on the shortcoming of todays operating systems. It's a great read, and Mailplane seems to help solve these OS problems:
I'm gonna go a little crazy here and say that we're not necessarily going to leave the desktop behind and dive into some glorious world of just needing a web browser. In fact, when I think about some of my favorite applications, they're the exact reversal of that trend. Mailplane puts my Gmail in a familiar, functional desktop context, Tweetie makes managing Twitter a casual, persistent activity instead of a chore, and iPhoto manages my social photo sharing folders for me so I don't have to stare at endless web forms and upload dialogues to get stuff on Flickr.
Gmail now serves better ads
Thursday, January 21, 2010
I found this blog post on the offical Gmail blog:
Ever since we launched Gmail, we've tried to show relevant and unobtrusive ads. We're always trying to improve our algorithms to show better, more useful ads.
When you open a message in Gmail, you often see ads related to that email. Let's say you're looking at a confirmation email from a hotel in Chicago. Next to your email, you might see ads about flights to Chicago.
But sometimes, there aren't any good ads to match to a particular message. From now on, you'll sometimes see ads matched to another recent email instead. For example, let's say you're looking at a message from a friend wishing you a happy birthday. If there aren't any good ads for birthdays, you might see the Chicago flight ads related to your last email instead.
To show these ads, our systems don't need to store any extra information -- Gmail just picks a different recent email to match. The process is entirely automated: no humans are involved in selecting ads, and no email or personal information is shared with advertisers.
Tip: If you prefer to hide your ads, check out this custom style sheet.
MacOnlySource Review: Excellent Alternative to OSX Mail
Monday, January 18, 2010
Today, MacOnlySource reviewed Mailplane. Their verdict: Mailplane is unequivocally a “Must Have App”!
Mailplane 2.1.3 released
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Important news
- A Gmail/WebKit problem (the repeating chat box) caused Mailplane and Safari to hang and crash. This Mailplane version solves the problem. More info...
- Gmail now uses https by default. When you use "Offline Gmail" the change can lead to sync problems. More info...
Translation news
- NEW: Thanks to Juan Juan Antonio Vermejo the Spanish translation is back!
- NEW: The Italian translation is back. Kudos to Monica Cainarca.
- UPDATED: Simplified and Traditional Chinese thanks to Jim Chiu
Bug fixes
- NEW: Mailplane is now available for Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard. Each version will check for the correct OSX version at startup.
- FIX: File > Insert > File in separate window didn't work.
- FIX: Display problems, when the "Gmail Text Size" was missing in the preference file.
- FIX: Duplicating Gmail chat box issue (hang/crash at startup): Included WebKit nightly to fix this problem.
- FIX: Crash when attaching files and using Adobe Flash 10.1 beta 2.
- FIX: Preferences > Accounts > Signature wasn't always saved.
- FIX: The "sign-in" link in Google Docs sidebar didn't work for Google Apps accounts. (You still get 404, but that's a temporary Gmail problem. Please use View > Reload Page to get back to your inbox).
- FIX: Mail > Insert > Email Address didn't work with incomplete address book entries (no name, for instance)
- FIX: Mail > Insert > Email Address didn't refresh when Address book was changed
Default https access for Gmail
Gmail now encrypts all the network traffic by default:
We are currently rolling out default https for everyone. If you've previously set your own https preference from Gmail Settings, nothing will change for your account. If you trust the security of your network and don't want default https turned on for performance reasons, you can turn it off at any time by choosing "Don't always use https" from the Settings menu. Gmail will still always encrypt the login page to protect your password. Google Apps users whose admins have not already defaulted their entire domains to https will have the same option.
Tip: Mailplane has its own security setting: Use a secure connection (https) under Preferences > Accounts. If turned on it'll open Gmail with the https protocol, even if the Gmail setting isn't set to use https. The Mailplane preference was introduced in 2007, before Gmail had the https setting. It is always turned on by default, too. There's a good chance you always used https in the past.
Important information for "Offline Gmail" users: If your can't sync anymore, it's because of the https settings change. Check out this help page for the solution.
Solution for the Gmail/WebKit issue causing crashes
Monday, January 11, 2010
A recent Gmail update crashes Mailplane, Safari, and other WebKit based applications. The Gmail help forum has a couple of threads concerning this problem and it is now listed on the Gmail known issues page. Not all Gmail accounts seem to be affected, but those who are, experience a duplicating chat box that lead to a crash.
Solution: If you affected by this Gmail bug, consider using the 2.1.3 preview version. It contains the latest WebKit nightly build, which solves the issue.
Announcements • Gmail • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
