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Re: [Evolution-hackers] Re: Evolution Context Menus (status report)

Ben -- I think there is good work here but I think there are some changes needed.  I have a lot of comments below.  I'd also like to compare the new Mailer menus to the other Component menus since some items might make more sense in context of Calendar and Contacts. Here is my detailed feedback on the proposal. 

A) Main menu comments:

    a) "Tools" should be before "Window" for consistency with other Apps

    b) Menu should be "Window" not "Windows"

B) File Menu

a) PLEASE bring back File New > (cascade)

3) Edit Menu

    a) where are Cut and Paste if I have a message in the list window selected?

    b) Preferences
As I brought up to Ben on IRC.  Assuming that Edit Preferences is a wholesale moving of Tools Settings, this is confusing because it is now "the place to go to create a New mail account".  I agree everything in the Tools Settings dialogs EXCEPT managing accounts are really preferences and as such make total sense under Edit Preferences.
 
If we want to use Edit Preferences in a sensible way, then part of the redesign should including fixing the Settings dialogs to separate Accounts set up from this.  And then we could have a new "Managing Accounts" item under either the File or Tools menu - not sure where the HIG puts "meta settings" but I could see either File or Tools.
    c) Select All/Deselect All
1) I do not understand what the accelerators are for "Select All" and "Deselect All"?  Ctrl-A-a is what exactly?

2) Ben said these are now Message body selection only and not Select All Messages in the List View -- that is confusing, perhaps these should move to the Message Menus?  Of course a counterargument could be: Select belongs on the Edit menu and we could have:
            Edit / Select-> All Messages
                               All Text in Message

Not sure of right answer but as currently spec'ed this seems inconsistent.

3) Is Select All a new feature when reading a message now? In Evo 2.0.3... Select All is not available when reading a message in its own window so we do not do this today (although I do wish it did :)).  And as a new feature, will Select All select everything including the headers or just the message body?

4) Deselect All is a new menu item and as such I guess a new feature too?  What does it when reading a message?  What does it do when composing or editing a message? Where is focus?

C) View Menu
a) Filter Messages- I do not believe anything that processes messages should be in the View Menus.
Aren't View menus usually only used for changing what or how something looks versus actually taking an action what is seen?  This seems very misplaced.

b) List Message As ->
I do not understand this menu item -- I eventually figured out its a replacement for the "Current View" plus "Message Display" cascades. Seems like it is combining apples and oranges and trying to give them a different, possibly less useful name.

c) Zoom In/Zoom Out/Normal Size -- If this is a replacement for Text Size in messages and does not affect anything else, please keep this Text Size (as Firefox does).  Zoom In/Out imply scaling graphing images and more to me than it will do. If this is a new Evo feature, what is it?

d) Where did the Character Encoding menu go?

D) Folder Menu
a) What is "New Search Folder?" If this is vFolders, how do I edit or manage them?

b) Subscriptions -- Shouldn't this be on the Edit menu near Preferences similar to the Pilot settings?  This will appear whether a user has an IMAP account or not, correct? And it requires the user to select a server to point to, so I recommend we put it w/ account settings.

c) Mark Messages as Read and Check Messages for Junk seem misplaced here. This works selected messages not an entire folder so I would have probably looked in the new Messages menu first.  Perhaps I understand the Folder menu entirely? I thought it was Folder operations like Rename or New or the things currently on the Folder right mouse menu.

d) Expunge seems lost w/o Empty Trash next to it. I do not know the right answer here but expect users will choose the wrong one if they do not see the other near it -- that is probably the wrong answer to. :) 

e) Where is Empty Trash? Did I miss it?

E) Message Menu
a) Open in New Window -- this was on File menu before which seemed ok but here it looks weird like it belongs on Window but I do not think I'd like that either. Probably should check other apps for guidance.

b) Go To cascade - Not sure about this, but isn't document navigation usually handled in the Edit menus like Find?  Not sure I'd like Go To there either, but just asking re: consistency.

c) Mark As cascade
This is pure me-as-user opinion: everything on this menu I use ALL the time and I use the menus for these settings, please do not bury these on a cascade!!!

d) Caret Mode - what is this?

F) Windows Menu
It seems to be the Components such as Mail, Calendar, Contacts and Tasks should be on this menu instead of their own Tools menu.  You are switching the context completely so they could be a Window. 

G) Tools Menu

If we move the components to Window, and do not put anything else here, we could possibly remove Tools completely. 



On Fri, 2004-12-17 at 17:44 -0500, Benjamin Kahn wrote: 
I've been looking at simplifying the Evolution context menus in the mail
component.  My proposals are here:
http://primates.ximian.com/~glesage/wiki/doku.php?id=evolution:menus

I have created a patch which implements most of these proposals (I have
yet to change the context menu when over an email address.)  

I'm looking at the other menus in Evolution -- you can see my proposal
for the Evolution mailer menus at: 
http://primates.ximian.com/~glesage/wiki/doku.php?id=evolution:menus:mailer

Patch for the context menus is attached.
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