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Column width in mail for OSX Catalina

I used to be able to set columns in mail when using the column layout feature. Now there doesn't appear to be a way to do this - also is it possible to rearrange the columns showing in mail other than turning a column off?

Posted on Oct 7, 2019 8:48 PM

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Posted on Oct 8, 2019 3:45 AM

I can confirm that it's not possibile (Joseph Kmoch is talking about width of columns in "column layout", not the width between the lateral folder view and the message view). I really would like to hide "folder name" in the column view when viewing smart folders, subject column width is now half the size it used to be in mojave.


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Oct 8, 2019 3:45 AM in response to sberman

I can confirm that it's not possibile (Joseph Kmoch is talking about width of columns in "column layout", not the width between the lateral folder view and the message view). I really would like to hide "folder name" in the column view when viewing smart folders, subject column width is now half the size it used to be in mojave.


Oct 8, 2019 5:28 AM in response to kolella

I agree - I can't get it to work either. Nor can I remove the source (account) of the mail, which is an unnecessary column! I'd prefer to have a wider name/subject/date than see the account name. Totally irrelevant.


Anyone found a solution to either of these (column width adjustment or removing the account source?

Oct 8, 2019 3:09 PM in response to Joseph Kmoch

Mail columns are now useless in Catalina . . . you cannot change what columns are displayed nor column width


When I go to my sent messages . . . guess who is in the name column - ME! For every single message sent no matter to whom.


How useless is that? How can I tell to whom did I send the message to without opening it???


Come on Apple, make Mail actually usable - as it is it is now in MacOS Cataline, it is a toy and functionally not usable for anything other than rare and casual email use.


There are people who actually use Mail as a business tool and need more than a super dumbed down POS mail app!

Oct 8, 2019 3:13 PM in response to MD_DM

IMO - Apple has oversimplified Mail in MacOS Catalina to the point where it is idiot-proof.


. . . . it is just a shame that most users are not idiots!


An example of form over function - looking good only gets you so far . . . once people start using it, then you need to help them get the most out of it and not give them a straightjacket and tell them that it is the latest fashion and they should be grateful that you will buckle them in tight!


:-)

Oct 8, 2019 6:50 PM in response to brobb1972

Agree, I wish the column headers were there. At least make an option to show. Mail is my lifeline to all my work. It has to have this functionality. This UI change doesn't even look good. I understand that they want to have unity between iOS and MacOS, however, I wish the email tool in iOS was more like MacOS, not the other way around.

Nov 17, 2019 3:11 PM in response to LWDEUTSCH

LWDEUTSCH wrote:

At this point APPLE should return it’s mail application to the previous system. I want to arrange columns where I want them. I want to be able to sort things the way I want to sort them. There’s no search function. It’s really been dumbed down into some kind of toy. I don’t want to install another OS. What can we do? Does anyone from Apple monitor this community?


This is a user to user forum; Apple does not monitor this forum for feedback.


You can send your comments to Apple here:


Feedback - macOS - Apple


As far as "no search function," did you miss this in the upper right hand corner?



CalaApple wrote:

Try Postbox (www.postbox-inc.com). It’s what Apple Mail should be. I switched and love it. Give it a try.


Postbox is nice, but is a bit buggy (it's horribly buggy with Gmail) and doesn't have VIP capability.

Oct 12, 2019 10:22 PM in response to braintoniq

Excellent graphic, braintoniq!

And I totally agree: The column dividers/width adjusters are pretty important to an app like Mail.

Your suspicion that they simply forgot them is accurate.


I called Apple Support today and the first tech who shared my screen could not understand why I can no longer adjust the column width and change the Message List font style in Mail Preferences but can only change the font size (the only one that comes with Mail v. 13.0.

So he handed me over to a Senior Advisor who also shared my screen.

He told me other Mac users have complained about the same issue but no solution was found yet.


Then, after the Senior Advisor directed me thru doing a live Quick Time Screen Recording and having me show the problem on my iMac (it's the same width/font issue for Apple Mail v. 13.0 on my MacBook Pro, so he knew it was a Catalina issue) and having a log file created to send to "Apple's Engineering Dept.," I decided to deselect Column View Layout on the Mail toolbar and found that I could successfully change both the font style and font size in Message List to what I liked.


The Senior Advisor then told me that he researched the issue while I was doing that and he read me an internal report that confirmed Mail in Catalina no longer supports Column View Layout or changing the font style in that mode.


Like most of you, I prefer to use Column View and am not pleased with not having the option to continue to use Column View the way I had it set up in every other version of Mac OS I have used previously, which for me goes back eight years.


Finally, the Senior Advisor provided me with this same website others in this forum referenced to give feedback to Apple to let them know I want to be able to use Column View the way I could before.

He told me if he hears of a way to adjust the column widths and change the font in Column View, he will contact me; however, he did say that because it is not technically a malfunction in Apple Mail but rather a change in the program, he doubts he will have a solution and apologized. He told me he agrees that this was not a positive change in Catalina and Apple should offer the option to use Mail the way I (and now I can say, "We" after reading all the posts in this thread) prefer.


So....I will send my feedback thru this link, below, and "hope" it makes a difference.



https://www.apple.com/feedback/mail.html


Oct 24, 2019 4:47 AM in response to klaasdj

Please, PLEASE, tell Apple what a mess they have made of email. Not only column width but you can't sort the order anymore! Good grief. WRITE https://www.apple.com/feedback/mail.html


I had to talk to Apple support about other problems with Catalina (this software is a disaster--I heard yesterday that the Medical University of South Carolina sent out an emergency advisory to employees saying "DO NOT UPGRADE TO CATALINA AS SOME PROGRAMS IN USE (at a research hospital no less!) WILL NOT RUN WITH CATALINA. Who tests this stuff, Apple?!!

Oct 31, 2019 12:17 PM in response to Joseph Kmoch

Unbelievable. They spent time and money to make it harder for the user to use. You don't even get more screen real estate, they still have the same header bar over the mail list. Now it just has the Sort button in it, which is harder to use. They are wasting space. I've complained at https://www.apple.com/feedback/mail.html but I'm guessing it's useless.

Dec 16, 2019 9:05 AM in response to Availlight

Availlight wrote:

Please Apple, please I cannot function without this basic functionality. I guess it's back to Mojave.


Once again, posting here will accomplish precisely nothing.


Let Apple know of your concerns here:


Apple Feedback: Mail


Duchy777 wrote:

That's heartening, but what's disheartening is that it ever happened.... who could have thought for one millisecond that removing control of what's displayed in Mail was a good idea? Absolutely opposed to everything Steve Jobs and his team worked for.... I can see how they want Catalina to bridge with iOS.... but they should be bringing iOS up, not pulling MacOS down.


Sadly, Apple has been removing capabilities from macOS Mail for several releases now.


For example, note that the basic ability to show messages just marked as deleted was removed in 10.14 Mojave despite the fact that you can still just mark messages as deleted if you set the Trash mailbox to None. ☹️

Column width in mail for OSX Catalina

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