Lion Mail full screen composing problem

rk-MA wrote:

This is a bug. A VERY BAD BUG!

It means that in the full screen mode, I can only read/compose a SINGLE EMAIL.

Usually for a reply I need to read a bunch of emails or look into my folders and all the sidebar and toolbar are locked.

No, this is not a bug. In full screen, when composing, Mail is acting exactly as designed. Now, I understand you may not like this behaivor and that is ok. What you should do is send polite feedback to Apple.

I assume that while unifying is good, an iOS for 4 or 10 inch screen brings different requirements than a user working with a 20 or 30 inch monitor!

I assumed that it has been a bug, because I thought they are smart/experienced enough to know that while composing an email, you often need to read some other emails (not in the same thread) or copy/paste from them.

I have send and cancel in full screen mode. Sounds like you've asked mail to Hide the toolbar.

charlie

Hi, this is all i see when in full screen mode. I have checked to see if toolbars etc are hidden in the main manu but not the case.

What I can do on my machine is this.

While in the composition window, full screen, hover mouse at top of screen, wait for menus to appear, go to View menu, select "Show toolbar".

charlie

Just tried this and makes no difference. As I said ive looked at the menu before and is set to show toolbars so not sure what's going on?!

u should be seeing this in fullscreen mode for mail:

Hello,

I do partially agree to the fact that this is not a bug, because it works well as it was designed. However if this is the way it was designed, I cannot agree that this is a normal/usable design for an email client.

When composing an email, either it being an answer to a previous email or a new email, you very very often need to check something in another email stored somewhere in Mail.

Designing the compose "window" (I put quotes because it's not really a window) as modal (ie you cannot click on the main Mail window to put it back in focus et navigate through your folders and then come back to the compose window) makes it almost unusable (unles you compose a simple email with no other need). When email is one of your main task, having to esc full screen mode to be able to check another mail is a nogo ...

I guess that, one again, design did prevail over usage (because the drawer-like modal window is of course more fashionalble than the classic window), and this is happening a little bit to much these days with Apple products (don't get me wrong, I am a Apple and Mac user since 1986 .. and that won't change anytime soon).

When I buy a product, I like to think that I can use each and every one of its functionnalities, some I might like , some not, but I am not happy with functionnalities that cannot be used and that I did pay for. For me fullscreen is useless in mail and I did pay for it (it's not that much my 30$ , but all that work that went into Mission Control and fullscreen mode that seems useles ...)

Anyway, I will send my thinking to Apple.

P.

A reasoned post. My suggestion is that the full screen function is of little use in mail. But if you are halfway through writing your life story in pages, the single window with no other distractions seems good. If you are composing a particularly hairy spreadsheet, the single window with no other distractions seems good.

My belief if that the full screen interface is standard for Apple's new software and will become standard behaviour for all Mac software. For some software, it will be a good thing. For some, such as mail, it is likely to be of no use. And in those cases, you don't have to use it!

As a writer, I really like the new fullscreen mail and use it exclusively that way - flicking back and forth from fullscreen Mail in Mission Control to other desktops filled with other activities.

The modal aspect of the compose new mail window mimics the trend in professional writing software like Mariner and others, which offer a fullscreen mode that is a "clean, distraction-free writing landscape."

I recommend this mode for all writers of serious e-mail, based on what I get in my inbox, which mostly reads like it was written by jumpy monkeys with extreme ADD disorders.

Cheers!

Hello

Well "serious" is always a subjective word. I consider my email as serious and you might consider I have ADD disorder, but I do understand the philosophy behind the modal window, the distraction-free writing landscape and that's why I am a little bit disapointed with the full-screen feature.

I really like the way I can have Mail on a separate Mission Control space, what I cannot use is the modal window preventing me from looking at already existing mail behind that modal window ..

And by the way, if you really want a distraction-free writing landscape, would'nt it be even better if that modal window would be fullscreen as well ... which can be achieved with the classic window but not the modal one :-)

Which leads me to an additionnal question: before Lion, with Spaces, I was able to put my classic window with its classic compose window on a space of its own ... This I don't seem to be able to achieve anymore (Yes I want the pluses of both world: a classic window, a classic compose window, on its own screen ..) ? did somebody achieve this ?

P.

I agree this is a problem. I keep Mail open all the itme as I am working between that and other Apps pretty much all day. Having it in full screen mode and being able to swipe to access it is great. However, I generally will be working on one email, referencing back to other emails and also maybe checking mail that is coming in, especially if it is an ongoing conversation (I generally get 80 - 100 emails a day that are work related). All of this is impossible in full-screen mode, rendering pretty useless from a professional work-related point of view.

I totally agree with above complaints: i truly dislike the modal nature of the mail compose window. I too go between old emails to copy/paste and this is no longer possible.

In fact, I found this thread after getting frustrated wiht the modal nature and did a search for 'modal, mail, Lion'.

I find it curious why there isn't at least a toggle menu item to turn modal on/off. When I used to program for Apple apps---pre OSX--- there was a 'toolbox' call when opening a window to make is modal or not. If something similar is still used, it would be a simple fix to add this option on opening a new email composition window.

Click on the green button?

Green button only visible when not in full screen mode. The modal (fixed window) issue is when in full screen mode.

I imagine that the modal decision is to mimic the iOS since if not modal, a switch to the Mail UI would hide the window. Perhaps a two finger swipe would allow treating the modal window as a page and still give access to other emails.