Re: [Evolution-hackers] Where to put UI items for templates (Bug #127529)

["Sankar P" <psankar novell com>]

On Wed, 2007-02-21 at 12:15 -0600, Matthew Martin wrote:
> On 2/16/07, Sankar P <psankar novell com> wrote:
> > On Fri, 2007-01-26 at 16:59 -0600, Matthew Martin wrote:
> > > I'm working on templates for evolution. I need to know where to put all
> > > the UI items for templates. There would need to be a save template,
> > > default new mail, and default reply items. I read some of the HIG and
> > > stuck them in there so I could write the code. Here's a link to the
> > > patches. http://mtt.martin.googlepages.com/ The first one is for
> > > evolution, and the second is for evolution-data-server.
> >
> >
> > I looked at the patches attached in the above url. The patches are not
> > yet complete so I am not doing an in-line patch-analysis reply. Some of
> > my comments are :
> >
> > - An account should be able to choose, what should be the default
> > template that it has to use and it should be noted that NONE should also
> > be an option here.
>   Where should this be added? Isn't this what the Default New Mail
> thing is for? Do we even need the default new mail? How useful would
> that be anyway?
> >
> > - You can add an option, "File->New from templates" which should list
> > the templates and the user should be able to choose a template and start
> > composing a mail. I will recommend getting a nod from Srini (CCed) for
> > any usability/UI aspects regarding this, before you start coding.
> >
> > - You need to add a view-column, "Template name" that will be available
> > for the Templates folder (only).  All messages stored as templates
> > should have a name associated to identify the message-template. It is
> > far more usable to read, "Status Report", "Release Announcement Mail",
> > "String Announcement Mail", "ABI Break announcement ;-)" etc., rather
> > than opening every mail and seeing, "Is this what I want to send now ?"
> >
> Shouldn't this act just like drafts?  Where are we going to get this
> template name? Would this even be all that useful?

It will be. 

On a longer run, we are planning to have pre-defined templates as well.
A name for a template is always more useful than looking at the mail and
knowing. Some people do not even enable Message-Preview. And think how
useful a name for the template will be. 

Consider the scenario when a new employee joins an office and the moment
he opens his Evolution, he can send things like Minutes-of-the-meeting,
Status-report, Meeting-agenda, Leave-letters in the company-prescribed
format. These standard templates will be pushed to his machine when the
machine was prepared for him. You can ask for the name of the template
once the user chooses, "Save as template".


> > - You need to close the composer once an user chooses "Save
> > Template" (as of now it is not doing and it keeps on creating new
> > templates) .
> Why should it do that? Saving a draft doesn't do this. Wouldn't this
> just annoy the user?

It shouldnt close. Your code creates a new copy of the template whenever
save is pressed. That also shouldnt be the behavior.

> >
> > - Reopening a template and saving it again should not create a new
> > template.

As explained above.

> >
> > - Your patch misses mail.error.xml changes as a result none of the user
> > choice-asking dialogs appear.
> >
> > - All mail operations like copy/move/DnD on templates folder should be
> > disabled. (IMO, it is a lot more easier to implement a new tab under
> > Composer-preferences than a new templates folder)
> >
> > - When there is a clash between account's default signature and the used
> > template's signature, the template's signature should be given more
> > priority.
> >
> > - The code to save a template should ensure teh uniqueness in naming
> > etc.
> >
> > - There must be a way to create a normal new mail when the user has set
> > a default-template. (May be a default Empty-mail template)
> >
>  This isn't clear enough. How should this be done? Should the whole
> default new mail idea be rethought? Should we just make this like a
> draft that doesn't delete itself?

What I am saying is: We may not want the same default new-mail template
for all the accounts. It should be chooseable per account. My office
account may need to have my company-logo, header, caption for all the
mails that I send using it. Whereas, my personal account may want to
default to a plain-text mail. 

And when the templates have a common storage that is not associated with
any account, it will be useable across the accounts. Like the ANNOUNCE
mail template that I described in my other mail.  And to send a mail
with in a defined template, just click on teh template, and choose
new-mail-from-this-template from a contextual menu and/or
file->new-mail-from-template which will list the templates. 


> >
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> > --
> > Sankar
> >
> >
-- 
Sankar