Sea-Monkey Messenger	UI Specification
Message Compose	Last Modification:

Author: Jennifer Glick  Creation Date: 12 Feb 1999 Last Modified: 16 April 1999	Status: UE3. Overall direction clear, most major issues resolved but a few minor issues still pending.
Quicklinks: Compose Message Window Toolbar Buttons Security Attachments Fcc Ender Toolbar	Feature Team Engineering Jean-Francois & Phil Peterson Marketing Sol Goldfarb QA Peter Mock Docs Simone Cox Usability Lake Roca UE Jennifer Glick

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Open Issues

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Summary

This document covers the new features and changes to the Mail Compose window for SeaMonkey (5.0). Changes and clarifications from the Nova Compose Message UI specification are discussed.

For specific details regarding the UI of the Address Book components, please see the Address Book UE spec.

For specific details regarding the UI of the Ender components, please see the Ender UE spec.

Goals

UE goals for 5.0 include:

• integrate new features into the UI
• modifying some of the areas in the current 4.5 release which users found confusing
• update the UI to reflect the new cross platform look and feel

  Modified Features

  • Rework the "Tabs" area (Addressing, Attachments and Options) on the Mail Compose window. Users are often unaware of the functionality in the hidden tabs (Attachments and Options). The Tabs also create more steps for the user.

    

  • Rework the way Attachments are currently added and displayed in a mail message being composed. There should be more consistency between how attachments are handled when a user is composing a mail message and when a user is reading a mail message.
  • Rework the items currently in the "Options" tab.
  • Make it easier to attach a web page by letting users select from their bookmarks.
  • Update the way security issues (encryption/signing) are displayed in the UI.

  New Features

  • Users will have the ability to have multiple accounts in 5.0. There needs to be a way for users to select which account the message is "From". The user can change the "From" account at send time.
  • The ability to change the Signature file on a per message basis.

Definitions

Address Panel

The pane exposed at the top of the Compose window which allows users to enter recipients to the email message and to set other per message properties.

Completion Picker

The small popup dialog that displays the list of ambiguous names for completion. Based off of the matches from pinpoint addressing.

Recipient Type

One of the following addressing designations: To, Cc, Bcc, Group, Reply-to, Follow-up, or Newsgroup.

User Tasks

Basic Tasks

Compose a message in Plain text Compose a message in HTML Reply to a mail message Forward a mail message Add a Subject line Addressing a message to a raw email address Addressing a message to an Address Book entry using auto-complete Use the completion picker to select a unique email address from a list of matches Send a message as: To, cc, bcc, Group, Reply-to, Follow-up, Newsgroup, (or Fax ?) Spell check Set Priority of message Add recipient from the Address Book Print a message

Intermediate Tasks

Save a message as a Template Save a copy of a sent message in a user specified folder Use the "Quote" feature when Replying or Forwarding (even though Quoting for Forwarding is not a Preference or included in the Forward drop down menu, uses can quote a message being forwarded by clicking on the "Quote" button once they have started a Forward message). Attach a local file Attach/send a web page Attach a signature file Attach a VCard Save a message as a file Save a message as a draft Request Return Receipt If multiple accounts, specify who the message is "From" Set Basic Mail Preferences (Default reply behavior, etc.) (in the Preferences area)

Advanced Tasks

Edit the HTML source code? Encrypt a message Sign a message Determine which SMTP server to use (if we decide to use multiple SMTP servers) Set Advanced Mail Preferences

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Design Cheatsheet

Main Window Access

Access points in the Main Messenger Mail window for the Compose Message window:

Toolbar	Menu	Msg Context Menu
New Message	Message Menu New Message Reply Reply to all Forward Forward As ( Inline, Attachment) Edit Message as New	Folder selected: - New Message Message selected: - Reply to Sender Only - Reply to Sender and All Recipients - Forward as Inline - Forwarded as Attachment

Access points in the Compose Message window for Compose Message:

Toolbar	Menu	Msg Context Menu
None	File Menu New _-> Message	None

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Design Details

Compose Message Window

General changes to the Compose Message window are described here.

Current Window (4.5):

Proposed Window (5.0): Other Variations -1 Other Variations -2 Other Variations -3 Other Variations - 4

General Changes: Incorporation the new cross platform look and feel. Tabs (Address, Attachment, Options) are removed. Most users are not aware of the purpose of the tabs or what kinds of features they contain. "Options" button is removed from the Toolbar (This button brought the Options tab to the front). There will no longer be an "Options" tab. Items currently on the "Options" tab will be exposed to the user in other ways. "Communicator" menu is changed to "Tasks". Surveys have shown the majority of users have no idea what is "Communicator". Remove the "Tools" menu. Items currently in this menu are moved to other menus. Add a "Message" menu. All options related to the current message will be grouped here, such as Priority, Return Receipt, Fcc, Signature, etc. "From" non-editable dropdown list is added. If a user has multiple accounts, they can choose from which account the message will be show as from. This drop down menu will display a list of multiple accounts for the current user. If no other accounts are available, there are no other options in the list. The user defined account name is not displayed as part of the message header when messages are sent (i.e., "Netscape Work Account"). Format" editable drop down list is removed from the Options tab and moved to the "Format" menu. The default action set by the user in preferences is displayed, but users can change this on a per message basis. For example, I normally have it set to ask me, but I know for this particular message that the person can only read plain text, so I change to format to plain text right here. Note: If the drop down is changed to "Plain Text only" the Ender Toolbar is disabled. "Priority" editable drop down list moved to the "Message" menu. "Security" button is removed from the Toolbar. Digital Signature and Encryption are displayed as drop down menus in the status bar area (see "Security" below). Note: the majority of users currently do Not use these features. "On-line" is displayed as a drop down list in the status bar area instead of an icon. Users can use the drop down list to toggle between on-line and off-line as well as get information/help about this feature. There is a push for 5.0 to convert current icons to text where appropriate. Attachments drop area is moved from the hidden tab to the Addressing area. This gives better feedback to users when attachments are included. Attachments button remains on the Toolbar OR is moved above the attachments drop area (tbd). "Return Receipt" is moved to the "Message" menu OR the Address Panel (previously in the Options tab).

Toolbar Buttons

Buttons that will be displayed on the Toolbar for 5.0 and their order are as follows:

Current (4.5):

Proposed (5.0): Note: "Attach" maybe removed and relocated to the right side of the window (see above).

Changes: New look and feel. New ordering and grouping based on functionality and frequency of use. Separate icons into groupings of related functionality and importance. "Options" (used to bring the Options tab of the Address Panel to the front) is removed since this tab is no longer used. "Security" is removed. See the "Security" section.

Security

Changes to security features are discussed below.

Current (4.5):   Security features are displayed in the Toolbar and in the Status bar. Security icons (the open lock) are displayed to users whether or not they even have security option properties set up. In addition, the majority of user currently do not use (or really understand) the security features. If the message is Encrypted, the Lock icon is shown as closed, otherwise it is show as open. This is inconsistent with the browser, for which the lock indicates a secure/non-secure server (not encryption). If the message is Signed, the Sign icon is displayed, otherwise, it is not shown at all.

Proposed (5.0):   Changes: There is no "Security" button in the Toolbar. The open lock does not appear in the status bar. Security features are show as drop down list boxes on the right side of the status bar. (Icons included, TBD. Please see the Status Bar UI Spec.) Commercial builds will always show the security features menus (digital signature and encryption). Users can use the drop down security menus to access information about each feature, set up these features, or download these features if they currently are not included in their version of Messenger. Once users have the security features set up, they can use the drop down menus to access the different security features on a per message basis (turn encryption on/off, use different certificates). Mozilla.org builds will not contain the security features.

Attachments

This section outlines the resulting actions when files are included, either attached or inline, in mail messages.

Attached files are displayed within the attachment area (and not displayed in-line). Files can be attached using several methods.

• Using the "Attach" button on the Toolbar.
• Using the "File, Attach" menu item.
• Dragging and dropping onto the attachment area.

Files included in-line are displayed in-line within the message body during compose (and not displayed in the attachment area). Files can be attached using several methods:

• Using the "Insert" menu (Image and Link).
• Using the Ender Toolbar, "Insert Image" and "Insert Link".
• Dragging and dropping onto the message compose area
  • If the file is not native, this is not allowed (accept with special key combinations, see table below).
  • If the file is a native graphic file, the file is displayed inline.
  • If the file is native and is an html file, the file is displayed inline (or as a link with special key combinations, see table below).
• Right mouse click within the compose area, "Insert new link".

A Graphic

To implement the recommendations, the Message Compose window would be modified as follows (or one of the variations listed above):

Global Preferences

With in the global preferences area, users can select how they want attachments to behave at viewing time.

• "When viewing mail messages, show attachments inline when possible". This is the same as currently implemented in 4.5.

Per Message Preferences

Users would also be able to override their global preference on a per message basis by using the "View" menu.

• When viewing a message: "Show attachments inline"

   

Plain Text Compose

In plain text message composition, files can be included as attachments but in-line inclusions of files are not available.

 

Table

The following table outlines the resulting actions:

File Type	Action	Show in Attachment Pane	Show Inline	Show as Link	Alternate Method or Behavior	Comments
Native Graphic File (jpg, gif)	Drop onto attachment area.	Yes	No	No	"File -> Attach" menu, or "Attach" button.
Native Graphic File (jpg, gif)	Drop onto message body.	No	Yes	No	"Insert -> Image" menu, or "Insert -> Image" from Ender toolbar.
Native Graphic File (jpg, gif)	Special Key + drag and drop onto message body.	No	No	Yes
Native Graphic File (jpg, gif)	Right Mouse drag & drop onto message body.	Maybe	Maybe	Maybe	A popup menu with options is displayed. (Insert as attachment, Insert inline, Insert as link, Cancel)
HTML File (local or networked)	Drop onto attachment area.	Yes	No	No	"File -> Attach" menu, or "Attach" button.	Relative graphic links included. Absolute graphic links not included.
HTML File (local or networked)	Drop onto message body.	No	Yes	No		Relative graphic links included. Absolute graphic links not included.
HTML File (local or networked)	Special Key + drag and drop onto message body.	No	No	Yes	"Insert -> Link" menu, or Ender Toolbar "Insert Link"
HTML File (local or networked)	Right Mouse drag & drop onto message body.	Maybe	Maybe	Maybe	A popup menu with options is displayed. (Insert as attachment, Insert inline, Insert as link, Cancel)
Bookmark	Drop onto attachment area.	No	No	Yes		Drop onto message body not allowed.
Page Proxy Icon	Drop onto attachment area.	No	No	Yes		Drop onto message body not allowed.
Non-Native File (Word, Excel, etc.)	Drop onto attachment area.	Yes	No	No		Drop onto message body not allowed.
Non-Native File (Word, Excel, etc.)	Special Key + drag and drop onto message body.	No	No	Yes
Non-Native File (Word, Excel, etc.)	Right Mouse drag & drop onto message body.	Maybe	No	Maybe	A popup menu with options is displayed. (Insert as attachment, Insert as link, Cancel)
Address Book Entry Icon	Drop onto attachment area.	Yes - Attach vCard	No	No		Drop onto message body not allowed.
Address Book	Drop onto attachment area.	Yes	No	No
Message or Thread Icon	Drop onto attachment area.	Yes - attach message	No	No		Drop onto message body not allowed.

Attachment specific changes are described here.

Current (4.5):

Proposed (5.0):

Attachment Changes: Attachments Tab is removed. Attachments drop area is moved from the hidden tab to the Addressing area. This gives better feedback to users when attachments are included. Attachments button remains on the Toolbar OR is moved above the attachments drop area (tbd). "Uuencode instead of MIME" is moved from the "Options" Tab onto the "Attach" Toolbar button drop down menu. Similar to the currently implementation of vCard, users can turn this feature on or off on a per message basis. When a new message is launched, the default is always what the user specified in their Preferences. Since this item is directly related to attachments, it is suggested it be relocated here. As for 4.5, clicking on the "Attach" button performs the default action of attaching a File (as opposed to a Web Page).

Attaching a File

Attaching a file to a mail message stays the same as for 4.5 Select the "Attach" button from the Toolbar and then "File..." from the drop down menu. The "Enter file to attach" dialog is opened. OR, from the "File" menu, select "Attach --> File...".

Attaching a Web page

The "Please Specify a Location to Attach" dialog is opened by:

• Selecting the "Attach" button from the Toolbar (and then "Web Page..." from the drop down menu.
• From the "File" menu, select "Attach --> Web Page...".

  Current (4.5):

  Proposed (5.0): The user selects the bookmark directly from the dropdown menu. Selection of a folder is NOT allowed (the dropdown stays open with menu fly outs until the user selects a bookmark or clicks off of the dropdown menu.

  Changes: The text label "Web Page (URL): " is moved on top of the text entry field to allow for more horizontal space. "Bookmarks" button is added. This make it easier for users since they don't have to try and recall a URL. Recognition is faster than recall. Place "http://" as the default text in the "Web Page (URL):" text entry field. This will give users a better idea what is expected in this text field and it is also very likely that the desired URL will start this way, so it saves them some time. The URL box inside the attach web page features the same auto complete that the URL box in the browser does. In addition, a user can drag and drop a file onto the URL box to attach the file.

FCC (File Carbon Copy)

This feature allows users to save a copy of a message being sent to a user specified folder on a per message basis. Since this is a feature intended for more advanced users, it is accessible via a menu dropdown only. A "Message" menu drop down will be added for the Message Compose window.

Basic functionality:

1. From the "Message" menu dropdown, the user selects "Fcc"
2. The "Fcc" selection activates a method to select a desired folder (TBD)
3. The user selects a message folder
4. When the message is sent, a copy of the message is placed in the specified message folder

This feature raises the complex issue of how to select a desired folder in the world of multiple accounts.

NOTE: How we decide to implement the folder selection portion of this feature also affects features that work similarly, including: "File", "Move Message" and "Copy Message". Even if we decide to not implement Fcc, how we deal with folder selection in the world of multiple accounts needs to be solved.

Option 1: A Fcc option is available from a "Message" menu. A flyout menu displays available accounts and each account is a flyout menu which displays it associated folders Issue: Since "Inbox" is the top level for an account, how do we represent this? Issue: Are Universal Folders displayed here? No? Can you move things to the "Inbox" folder for each account?

Option 2: A "Fcc ..." option is available from a "Message" menu. A dialog is opened User uses the dialog to select the desired folder (SAME account/folder representation as in the Mail Navigator window). User selects "OK" to complete selection.

Forward

Current (4.5): Currently, when forwarding a mail message: the table which is used to organize the header information is displayed to users Headers displayed are based on the view the user has set (all, normal, brief)

Proposed (5.0):

Changes: Do not show the table used to organize the header information (for a much cleaner look) Limit the number of headers forwarded to a brief subset (this one is open for debate, can we do this?)

Reply

No specific changes to the Reply window except those applied to the Message Compose window.

Ender Toolbar Components within Mail Compose

The Ender Toolbar component is an important part of the Message Compose window. It is important that this toolbar not be overwhelming with features, but be clear and provide easy access to the most commonly used HTML editing features.

Please see the complete Ender UE Spec for more details.

Users currently have problems understanding the items in the Ender Toolbar "Insert" drop down menu. One possibility would be to change this menu to include text.

Changes: "Remove all Styles" icon is removed. The Toolbar has limited space and should be reserved for the most frequently used features. This is not a frequently used feature.

Compose Menus and Context Specific Menus

Not yet complete.

Please see the Message Compose Menus UE spec.

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Closed Issues

• Clicking on the "Address Book Card" within in the Address Panel opens the Address Book? Currently (4.5), nothing happens when you click on this icon. Some issues, currently this icon can be used to reorder recipients (by dragging and dropping them in the Address Panel) and it can also be used to change the "To" type of multiple recipients (by Shift clicking to select multiple recipients and then changing the "To" type). If we implement as described above, these features would go away. No changes, leave this feature as it currently is for 4.5. Mail Issues meeting 3/18/99.
• Will "New Message" be accessible from the Task Bar? Probably yes from TaskBar under Mail pull down, but not from QuickAccess. Mail Issues meeting 3/18/99.
• What items do we want to appear in the addressing area (Priority, Attach, Format, Save a copy, Return Receipt). For now (!), Format, Return Receipt and Priority. Mail Issues meeting 3/18/99.
• Currently we have six different "To" options in the Address Panel, To, Cc, Bcc, Group, Reply to and Followup to. Do we need "Reply to" and "Followup to"? Do people use these? Yes, keep them. Mail Issues meeting 3/18/99.
•  Order of Toolbar buttons. Send | Address, Attach, Quote, Spelling | Save Print Stop. 4/15/99 - Mail Issue's meeting.
• The "Format" editable drop down list. Does this belong on the Address Panel? It was previous only the Options tab (which is going away). "Format" will not be on the chrome but will appear in the "Message" menu. 4/15/99 - Mail Issue's meeting.
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Archived Documents

Change History

• April 15, 1999
• March 10, 1999 

Nova's Compose Message UI Spec