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Handling mail messages as information
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Posted by Jorge Watanabe
Aug 17, 2015 at 07:13 PM
Maybe you are referring to Everdesk? It treats mail messages as ordinary files and provides an interesting interface to manage both messages and OS files
Posted by Ken
Aug 17, 2015 at 07:57 PM
Jorge Watanabe wrote:
Maybe you are referring to Everdesk? It treats mail messages as ordinary
>files and provides an interesting interface to manage both messages and
>OS files
That may be the program that Bill was trying to recall, but I will let him respond.
There are interesting programs, but I am limited to portable or web-based software programs. I guess what I am searching for is a task/information manager that handles mail like a task, but that displays it in a way that I can have several items/messages and their content visible at once. Most use a three pane layout, and this only allows you to see the contents of one item/message at a time. I do want a left pane for folders and tagging, but I want items/messages to expand or collapse like Workflowy so you can see more than one at a time. I suspect that Toodledo might offer this type of layout, but I would need a subscription upgrade to see. I know that I am being somewhat picky here, but I do believe that this layout possibly exists.
—Ken
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Aug 17, 2015 at 09:18 PM
Ken wrote:
>I guess what I am searching for is a
>task/information manager that handles mail like a task, but that
>displays it in a way that I can have several items/messages and their
>content visible at once. Most use a three pane layout, and this only
>allows you to see the contents of one item/message at a time. I do want
>a left pane for folders and tagging, but I want items/messages to expand
>or collapse like Workflowy so you can see more than one at a time. I
>suspect that Toodledo might offer this type of layout, but I would need
>a subscription upgrade to see. I know that I am being somewhat picky
>here, but I do believe that this layout possibly exists.
My impression is that Zoot should be able to handle your needs, but I don’t know about portability. And of course the learning curve is quite steep.
Posted by Ken
Aug 17, 2015 at 10:37 PM
Alexander Deliyannis wrote:
>My impression is that Zoot should be able to handle your needs, but I
>don’t know about portability. And of course the learning curve is quite
>steep.
Why does Zoot having a steep learning curve not surprise me?;)
I was thinking more about all of the various programs that I have used since Ecco, a program that also took some learning as well. Many of them offer far more access and features, but I somehow always feel like I need more muscle than finesse to get them to do what I want. I like to think that I just have not found the right program, but some days I wonder if I am searching for a needle in a haystack. I know that my needs are now more complex than when I was using Ecco, but it was a program that I could use without having to give it much thought. I wish I could find another program that was as responsive to my needs today.
—Ken
Posted by MadaboutDana
Aug 18, 2015 at 09:24 AM
Quite right, Jorge, it was Everdesk. Thank you!
Everdesk does have a highly unusual and effective interface, even if you’re not using it as an e-mail client.
I take your point, Ken. It’s surprising how basic the handling of things like e-mail messages as part of complete project overviews still is. The ability to put e-mail messages in a column alongside documents alongside your own notes/schedule is still very difficult/impossible to find. In fact, this would be an ideal application for something like Gingko, if the latter only supported documents/attachments (I don’t think it does, but maybe I’m wrong?).
Maybe that would be a good place to start?
Or you could try something like TreeSheets?
Or alternatively, you could think sideways and use a multicolumn file manager to interrelate notes, documents and e-mails? Based on the simple premise that you can drag and drop e-mails (complete with attachments) out of Outlook directly into your file system. Using a powerful file manager with a good Preview function (a PowerDesk clone, although preferably more stable!), you could set up workspaces for yourself that focus on specific documents/folders in each column. It might also be worth investigating PaperPort from this perspective - a much underrated program, IMHO, with the ability to create shortcuts and multiple workspaces.
Cheers,
Bill