Name:         PowerTalk Mail Folders
Version:      1.5
Released:     April 18, 1996
Description:  Improves PowerTalk mail filing in the Finder. Requires
              PowerTalk and at least System 7.1.2.

The enclosed file is a self-extracting archive. To use, download, double-click the downloaded file (this decompresses it).

From the Read Me included this archive:

Important Information About Mail Folders

Mail Folders is a Finder extension that improves PowerTalk mail filing in the Finder. The extension requires that PowerTalk be installed. The Mail Folders extension is compatible with all Finders from 7 Pro on, including 7.5 and subsequent 7.5 system updates. 

To install Mail Folders, drag its icon to your Extensions folder and restart your computer. The extension is only about 20K and requires very little memory.

Using Mail folders

In many ways, Mail Folders are just like ordinary Finder folders. You can put any files you like in them (not just AppleMail letters). You can copy them and share them as you would any other folder. On a system without the Mail Folders extension installed, Mail Folders look like normal folders.

However, there are several significant differences between Mail Folders and regular folders:

¥ You create Mail Folders by choosing New Mail Folder from the FinderÕs File menu (shortcut: Command-B).

¥ Mail Folders have a special icon (a folder with a letter on it) to distinguish them from normal folders.
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¥ Mail Folders can be viewed only in list view. If you want to see your mail Òby IconÓ or Òby Small Icon,Ó put it in a normal folder.
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¥ Mail Folder lists display these columns: Subject, Sender, Date Sent, and Priority. Subject is the same as Name, and Date Sent is the same as Creation Date. Sender and Priority are extracted from AppleMail letter files; these columns remain blank for other items (for example, applications, folders, other documents).

¥ When you drag a letter from the In Tray to a mail folder, the letter is moved, not copied. (Actually, the letter is first copied to the mail folder, then moved to the Trash.)

To force a letter to be copied, hold down the Option key as you drag it.

If you accidentally move a letter to a Mail Folder when you meant to leave it in your In Tray, open the Trash, click the letter, open the File menu, and choose Put Away. The letter will return to the In Tray.  Note: The Put Away command is the only way to get a letter back into the In Tray (besides mailing it to yourself), since you cannot drag items into it.

If anything goes wrong when you copy a letter to a Mail Folder (for example, the disk is full, you click Stop, a disk error occurs), the original letter will not be moved to the Trash.

Known limitations and incompatibilities

¥ If you drag an item other than an AppleMail letter from the In Tray to a Mail Folder, it will be copied, not moved.

¥ The Mail Folders extension gets the Sender and Priority information for each letter from data that PowerTalk writes into the letter. This fact has two important consequences:

1. Mail Folders open more slowly than normal folders, since each letter must be opened to retrieve the Subject and Sender (for smaller folders, the difference is not noticeable, but if you have several hundred items in a single folder, be prepared to wait).  

2. Utilities that compress or encrypt the letters in a Mail Folder prevent the Sender and Priority information from being read correctly. To avoid errors or crashes, donÕt use these utilities on the contents of Mail Folders.

¥ If you create a letter with no recipients and save it, the sender will be blank. If you create a letter with recipients and save it before sending it, the sender will be Ònot applicable.Ó The priority in both cases will be Ònot applicable.Ó

¥ The Mail Folders extension prevents some versions of AladdinÕs Stuffit MagicMenu from working correctly. The problem is fixed in Aladdin in MagicMenu version 3.5.1 and later.

Disclaimer

The Mail Folders extension is not a product of Apple, and does not necessarily indicate AppleÕs future direction.

The Mail Folders extension has not been tested extensively, so use it at your own risk. It is highly unlikely that it will corrupt your data, however. To remove the extension, drag its icon out of your Extensions folder and restart; Mail Folders will simply turn into normal folders and their contents will still be accessible.

Technical information about Mail Folders

Mail Folders are distinguished from normal folders by an invisibe file inside the folder. Thus, the technically inclined can turn folders into Mail Folders, and vice-versa, by using any utility capable of copying invisible files (such as MPW) to add or remove the invisible file. Mail Folders differ from regular folders in only a few ways, mostly to show different list views and icons.

To show the sender and priority in list view, the Mail Folders extension relies on the way the PowerTalk Mailbox extension works. When you drag a letter to a folder, the Mailbox extension creates a special type of document called a disk letter. Code in the Mailbox extension knows how to open the disk letter and read the sender and priority using AOCE Toolbox calls; in fact, this information is visible when you choose Get Info on a disk letter. The Mail Folders extension simply provides a different list view that makes the sender and priority visible alongside the name (subject) and creation date (date sent).

The Subject, Sender, Date Sent, and Priority columns were chosen to mirror as closely as possible the columns in the In Tray itself (the In Tray also has a Location column, which obviously isnÕt necessary). Size is not shown because most letters are small. Certification status is not shown because all letters are technically uncertified once they are copied to disk.


© 1996 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.
Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.  
AppleMail, AppleTalk, Power Macintosh, PowerShare, and PowerTalk are registered trademarks of Apple Computer. 

January 15, 1996