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Lion Mail full screen composing problem

So, I was composing an email in Apple Mail, Lion, full screen view, decided I wanted to check an old email for some info, and found that I could not access the inbox while my composition was open. Nor could I found out how to leave full screen but stay in mail. I seem to have to save my partly composed email as a draft, exiting composition, then return to it later after getting what I needed.


Do I have it right?


Is there a way to access the inbox when composing in full screen?


Is there a keystroke or some way to exit full screen while composing?


Feel free to show me up as dumb on this one (wouldn't be the first time).


Thanks.


Cheers,


Otto

Posted on Jul 21, 2011 11:14 AM

Reply
67 replies

Jul 31, 2011 3:02 AM in response to Paul Otteson

I just cant understand how a thing as obvious as this has been overlooked by Apple?


Surely the months of testing by Apple and Developers using Lion would pick up on such a flaw in Mail's features!


This really does make Apple Mail 5.0 unusable in full screen mode. Very poor UI Apple.


Overall I am not impressed with Lion. What's launchpad all about?! The Dock is better. Just Apple trying to dumb down their software too much and forgetting the professional users.

Aug 2, 2011 11:37 AM in response to HendieDijkman

You've composed an email. What might you want to do with it? Send it, bin it, or save it for later. If you send it, then click the "Send" button. You're done. If you choose not to send it, the bin and save draft options are available under the "I don't want to send it button" which is labelled "Cancel". You don't need the "save a draft copy or not' options unless you have chosen not to send it. Perfectly logical.

Aug 2, 2011 12:04 PM in response to mactedder

Not wanting to defend it or anything, but you need to view the full screen modes of applications in the light of iPhone and iPad. If you have ever used one of these devices, you will know that Mail works in exactly the same manner - you have the app running full screen and the mail you're typing has only two options: Send or Cancel


It seems to me that Apple's inclusion of full screen into the new Lion OS is aimed at unifying their iOS and Desktop OS - a smart move when many of Apple's users may now have started life on an iOS device, rather than on a Mac.


For those of us that have been with Mac since long before iGadgets were a twinkle in Steve's eye, we still have the normal windows where the apps work pretty much as before...


C.

Aug 2, 2011 1:02 PM in response to steviebeaton

Esc doesn't close the compose window in full-screen mode for me either - I need either to click Cancel (top left of the compose window) or press cmd-W.


But I'm not sure why you are not seeing the "Send" and "Cancel" buttons at the top-left of the compose window in full-screen mode. Can you describe everything you see on your compose new mail window when in full-screen mode?


C.

Lion Mail full screen composing problem

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