New MailTags Beta: Multiple to-dos and events
Scott Morrison has released public beta number 6 
of his forth-coming MailTags 2.0 plugin for Mail.app.
The big change with this release is the ability to add multiple to-dos and events to a single message.
He has been busy. Users will quickly notice the main changes to the MailTags pane and the pop-up interfaces for adding to-dos and events to messages.
Events and to-dos for a message are now listed together in the re-designed pane.
Right-clicking (or Control-clicking) on an item displays a Contextual menu that allows you to edit it, to view in iCal or delete it. Old-timers will remember that these options were once provided by small buttons on the pane.
The buttons on the pane have also been refreshed. They no longer look “clunky” and add extra unity to the plugin’s interface.
Users are less likely to see another important change under the bonnet. This public beta features a new optimised way of applying rules to incoming messages. Rules now process in sequence when multiple rules apply at the same time or in close sequence.
As a result it is much, much harder to crash MailTags by going at it lickity-split, hammering away with as many fast Mail Act-on keystrokes as possible. Believe me. I’ve tried very, very hard.
The interfaces for entering to-dos and events have also been redone. They are both now smoked glass pop-ups. The to-do interface contains everything you need:
The events pane is new but follows the same pattern:
Scott notes that this beta is now “feature-complete” before the final release: “Nothing new to add and only bugs to work out”.
Whenever Scott releases another version of the public beta, I need to think of some new superlative to describe this prince of plugins.
Perhaps I should leave the flowery rhetoric to one side this time and tell it to you straight: there is no other plugin, add-on, hack, script or work-around that has added more grunt to my Mail.app than MailTags. Some days I consider Mail.app a plugin for MailTags, not vice-versa. It is simply the cat’s whiskers.
You can read more about MailTags 2.0 and download the new public beta from Scott’s web site , where you will also find a forum for any questions.
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January 18th, 2007 at 1:48 am
I wish his entire window was that black glassy pane type window. The side bar looks kind of ugly, and takes up to much room on my display. Would be nice if I could float it, and have a key to show/hide it.
My main use is tagging anyways, I don’t really want any of the other things. So really, something more like KeywordManager for iPhoto…
January 18th, 2007 at 5:21 am
I’m a big fan of Mailtags myself. My only pet peeve is that one can’t set alarms for ToDos from Mail. If I have to open iCal to enter the alarm, that really defies the whole point of having MailTags do iCal stuff for me from within Mail.app.
January 18th, 2007 at 7:01 am
Hi Alex –
I want to add this too — and I still may get it into as one last feature before release — but there are a few bugs I want to nip first. If not 2.0 then 2.1…
January 18th, 2007 at 7:28 am
That would be (even more) excellent.
January 18th, 2007 at 8:04 am
Hear! Hear!
January 18th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
I agree with Eric Coleman that whole mailtags panel would greatly gain from moving it to extra panel both functionaly and estheticaly - now i have four panels and its kinda hard to distinguish where to look for MailTags stuff cos its so similar colorschemic to mail - Separation works really great on Aperture and I can highly recommend it.
Great Work nevertheless, keep it up.
You Fan :)
January 25th, 2007 at 6:45 am
I agree with Alex, not being able to set an alarm for todo items is a bit of a bummer. But it’s a very nice tool, I’m relatively new to this version (tried the old version long time ago, didn’t like it), but it’s already fully integrated into my workflow… and for some reason the default calendar won’t stick to the one I choose it to be… bug?
February 2nd, 2007 at 11:38 am
The combo of mailtags/act-on are so well done in looks and implementation that it’s almost embarrassing Apple didn’t do it.