Jean-Michel took exception to a screenshot of my copy of Mail.app in another post about navigating around Mail with the keyboard.

He asks,

I’m sorry, but how old is that screengrab? it looks completely different to my mail.app, is this some of the hawkwings add-ons?

It is. I have modified the look of my Mail.app with two utilities that are easy to use and give (to my mind) a much nicer work environment. Compare these two interfaces:

First, the lozenges in mine (the front one) are gone, thanks to Mail Stamps. Now they are big, bold and brassy, just how I like them.

Harder to see but still noticeable, I have run UNO , system-wide theming utility for OS X that brings the unified Toolbar/Titlebar and lighter metal look of Mail and iTunes to all your skinnable apps.

I like the look. And, of course, once you get the taste for it, it’s hard to stop.

You can replace Mail.app’s Dock icon with one of the 295 alternatives on the Hawk Wings’ icon list, which also contains instructions on how to do it.

You can also replace the new mail badges that appear over the icon in the Dock with one of a number of alternatives.

Using the tips for hacking the Letterbox plugin, you can start to make changes to the nib files which control the layout of Mail.app’s message list and preview pane.

Lastly, if you are really keen, you could replace the mailbox icons with any number of improbable images that appeal to you. Use the Hawk Wings Hasta la Vista icon set, or make something better yourself.

Needless to say, no one in their right mind would try this without having backed things up first.

Go on. Take out the cleaver and make a Mail.app of your own!

Tags: Apple Mail, Dock, hacks, icons, interface, mail.app, mailbox icons, nib files, notification badges

Related posts

• Icon replacement tutorial for Mail.app
• How to change Mail.app’s new mail badges
• Change Apple Mail’s new mail badges
• An interface hack too far?
• Vive la différence! More Mail icons

This entry was posted on Thursday, 12th October, 2006 at 10:10 pm and is filed under Apple Mail Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.