[imp] message selection in imp

[Michael Menge]

Quoting Andy Dorman <adorman at ironicdesign.com>:

> On 07/20/2015 03:10 AM, Michael Menge wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> some of our users don't like how the message selection in imp is
>> currently handled.
>>
>> If you click on es message to view it, the current selection is reset
>> and the message gets selected.
>> The following three "issues" are reported.
>>
>> 1. If you want to delete/move multiple other mails you have to remember
>> to deselect the message.
>>
>> 2. There is no way to view a mail without deselecting all selected
>> mails. (e.g. you have selected
>> some mails to delete them, and you want to check one mail if it should
>> be deleted or not.)
>>
>> 3. If you miss the selection box, your selection is reset.
>>
>>
>> One possible solution to these problems would be to make the message
>> view independent from
>> the message selections.
>>
>> Before I create a new feature request I would like to discuss the pro
>> and cons, and
>> check if such a feature request  would have a chance to be accepted.
>>

>
> I have a couple of questions about how you would want the selection  
> process to changed...
>
>> 1. If you want to delete/move multiple other mails you have to  
>> remember to deselect the message.
>
> So, if you have a message selected and you want to select another to  
> read, how would you do it?  The expected behavior is that the  
> selected email is the one that is viewed.  So you want to be able to  
> select a specific email and it NOT be displayed?
>
> In that case you would need another action to tell the system to  
> actually display the selected email, roughly doubling the actions  
> needed to read your email and that is NOT something we would support.
>
> Or perhaps I do not understand. ;-)
>

I should explain my idea a bit more.

If you click on the from, subject, date or size of es message the  
message is displayed like now,
but the selection (checkbox) is not changed. You can change the  
selection by clicking on the ceckbox
like now.

If no message is selected but one is shown (preview) actions like  
delete should work on the shown message.


>> 2. There is no way to view a mail without deselecting all selected
>> mails. (e.g. you have selected some mails to delete them, and you
>> want to check one mail if it should be deleted or not.)

>
> I simply delete the group above or below the email I have a question  
> about and then select the email I want to read...two clicks...Every  
> email client I have ever used works this way.  I think changing Imp  
> to require MORE user actions to manage their email is the wrong way  
> to go.
>

It think it woule require less actions as you can continue to select messages
without deleting the first group

>> 3. If you miss the selection box, your selection is reset.
>
> This one really confused me...so I logged in and tried to reset a  
> group I was selecting.
>
> I was at first unable to do what you describe as follows:
>
> 1. I selected an email by clicking anywhere on the row containing  
> the Selection check box - From - Subject - Date - Size.
>
> 2. Then I held down the Shift key (Shift+select and Ctrl+select have  
> been GUI standards for inclusive and exclusive list selections  
> respectively for over 30 years)
>
> 3. Then tried to somehow reset the group by clicking anywhere in the  
> email list and I could not loose the selection.
>
> Eventually I figured out that if you do NOT follow GUI standards to  
> hold down the Shift key to indicate an "inclusive" multi-select,  
> then the interface correctly sees your selection request as NOT a  
> multi-select and behaves as it should.
>
> Again, I may not understand and if I miss your point then I apologize.
>

You can change the selection of mails by clicking on the ceckbox without
pressing Shift or Ctrl. So "issues" 3 can be solved by always using the
Ctrl  key. But I guesse some of my users don't know the GUI standards or
are too lazy to eep pressing Ctrl.


regards

    Michael




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M.Menge                                Tel.: (49) 7071/29-70316
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