[Bug 117808] tabbed view for messages and folders

[Tore Anderson]

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http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=117808         




------- Additional Comments From tore fud no  2008-08-01 17:01 -------
I like the idea, so +20 from me...

A few things though.  When working on low-resolution displays (ultraportable laptops and so on) the default layout with the folder list, the message listing, and the message content all on-screen at the same time, is quite simply too large.  Especially when having lots of folders and deeply nested threads.  Disabling the message preview pane helps, but then you need to open all messages in new windows to read them, and having lots of windows sucks.

I grew quite fond of how Gnus handles this.  It starts you up in a screen which is only the folder list.  Find the folder you want, and you enter it.  The next screen is only the message list.  Select a message, and that's what's get shown (actually here I can't quite remember if the screen was split vertically with the minor part of it being the message list).  Go back/up and you're again in the full-screen message list.  Another back/up and you're in the folder list.  Of course hotkeys like next (unread) message, next (unread) folder, etc. continue working even in the innermost (message) UI level.

Also mutt works this way except for the fact that it doesn't have a useful upper level (folder listing).  Claws-Mail has a «small screen» layout that partly implements this too (it opens messages in separate windows though).

I think tabs could be made to work this way, too, if you can designate default tabs and distinguish between "open in existing tab" and "open in new tab".  So if you go to the folder list and click on a folder it will open up in the existing folder-view tab, and ditto for clicking on messages in the message list.  So unless you specifically ask for something to be opened in a new tab, you'll always have three tabs:  "Folders", "Messages (in $FOLDER)", and "Message ($SUBJECT)".  (Maybe even put "Accounts" at the top-level there.)

Regards,
Tore