Mail Morsels

Multiple Mail Accounts

To me, one of the most convincing reasons to consider using Mail is that it supports more than one account in the same window. Gmail shows one account in one window at a time. To see messages from other accounts in the same place requires forwarding them and can create a mess that makes locating specific messages even more difficult.

In Mail, you get to choose how you like to interact with your email. With multiple accounts signed in on your Mac, you can easily look at messages in just one mailbox at a time or see that of all inboxes, other primary mailbox categories, specifically selected mailboxes, or other options.

In Big Sur Gripes & Greats, I wrote about my Conversations smart mailbox that mimics the one thing I appreciate about Gmail. Seeing all sent and received emails in one place doesn’t have to create overwhelm, though. I shared in Mac Hot Tips #2 that I like to use Rules to color code my conversations and differentiate messages among the seven accounts I have active in Mail.

Customizable Toolbar

As I shared in A Sign of Things to Come, Mail is one of a number of Apple applications whose toolbar is customizable. That means you can move the buttons around and choose the set that work best for you.

Among Gmail’s failings is that many of the primary email actions are scattered throughout the interface, hidden in menus, or represented by tiny, unlabeled icons (or unpictured words, if you prefer; buttons can be words or icons, not both). On the flip side, Mail presents all of these actions together on a bar at the top of the window.

Don’t like how the buttons are arranged? Hold the Command key and drag them around as you like. Got an icon you don’t use? Hold Command and drag it off the toolbar. Want an action that isn’t there? Choose View > Customize Toolbar… and design your bar just right. If you wish, you can choose to see Text Only, Icon Only, or Icon and Text.

Tip: If you rely on Search and dislike how the field is hidden under the magnifying glass, you have a couple options to make the full field always visible:

• If possible, try making your Mail window bigger. Drag any edge or corner to resize or try Full Screen mode.
• Remove some buttons from the toolbar to make room for Search

Consistent Settings

In the years since its 2001 introduction as part of the first version of Mac OS X, the modern Mac operating system, the core functionality of Mail has changed little. If you’re a longtime user, you may argue otherwise, but I think you’d be referring to the visual design of macOS more than the underlying interface.

Unlike Gmail, which has periodically changed its interface at the expense of customers’ sanity, Mail works pretty much the same as always and provides a wealth of settings to customize its look and feel. Here are a few Gmail experiences that consistently bug my clients and how Mail behaves differently.

Text

When pasting text from other places, Gmail’s composer doesn’t consistently show changes in typeface, but this commonly causes received emails to have a variety of fonts, making messages appear less professional.

Mail always shows text as it is. Locally, your view of a composition is primarily for your own benefit, so don’t worry about making your default font bigger or smaller to suit your preference. Recipients will see your message however they want or as their email application specifies.

Viewing

Gmail only shows the most recent message in a thread at the bottom of the conversation, meaning you must always scroll down to see the latest.

When showing related messages in a conversation, Mail also defaults to showing the most recent message at the bottom of the view. However, in Mail > Settings > Viewing, you can choose to Show most recent message at the top.

Shortcuts

Gmail’s keyboard shortcuts are… wait, Gmail has shortcuts?! Actually, I didn’t know Gmail had all these shortcuts, the first of which were introduced way back in 2009. But they’re a bit arcane, inconsistent, and … customizable?! Good luck.

Mail has dozens of keyboard shortcuts, too, and they follow the same conventions as other Mac applications. So, many are the same ones you use for the same commands elsewhere, such as New [Message], Close [Window], Add Link, and Print.

Among Mail-specific shortcuts, they follow a logic that makes sense and is memorable, like Shift+Command+N to Get All New Mail and Command+R for Reply, Shift+Command+R for Reply All, and Shift+Command+F for Forward.

As usual, you can always reference keyboard shortcuts among Mail’s menus. Plus, you can create your own shortcuts for menu items that lack them or change the shortcut that already exists for a command.

Selection

While Gmail now enables multi-selecting specific ranges of conversations using Shift and Command, it still only supports seeing 50 messages at a time and actions only apply to selections on the current page. Mail shows all messages in a single list, in which you can multi-select as much as you like and act on everything at once.

Offline Operation

Because Mail is a standalone application rather than a website, and because it relies on content that has been downloaded to your computer, you can use Mail offline. Say you’re on an airplane, other mode of public transit, traveling abroad, or anywhere without an Internet connection. You can still open Mail and manipulate the email you had last you were online.

That means you can compose new messages, work on existing drafts, read messages you’ve received, and delete or archive those you’re done with. All of these touches will sync next time your Mac is connected.