Mail should BRoster::AddToRecentDocuments() when moving to another email via up/down arrows

[jonas.kirilla]

When using a query to view unread email and doing an accidental Alt-Up/Down in the Mail application the email disappears from the query and is not listed in Deskbar's "Recent Documents".

Sometimes I want to go back to that email to finish reading it, or to delete it. If Deskbar had it listed that would be much easier than finding it in a potentially crowded ~/mail/in.

[jonas.kirilla]

MailWindow.cpp.diff

[jonas.kirilla]

Here's a patch.

[stippi]

Maybe I am missing something (I should look at the diff in context), but shouldn't Mail always add an opened mail to the recent documents? Ie not only when it was opened via Tracker. The only problem I see is that it will just flood your recent documents, and after reading some mails, you will have none of your "real documents" in the recent list anymore. So maybe we shouldn't do anything about this problem at all. (BTW, I can recommend Beam, it's an awesome mail reader. :-)

[jonas.kirilla]

Replying to stippi:

shouldn't Mail always add an opened mail to the recent documents?

There was no call to BRoster::AddToRecentDocuments() from Mail. Tracker adds the files you open in Tracker, and I believe also files that get opened from BFilePanels (in applications).

I suspect there are many applications that don't call AddToRecentDocuments() - in cases where Tracker code is not involved - like when opening recent documents from within an application's local recent-menu, or when skipping between files by Command-Up/Down.

(In the first case, where files are opened from an application's local recent menu, the file is already in the list, but it should be added again anyway, IMO, to have it moved to the top of the list. These lists should reflect what I did and in what order.)

Replying to stippi:

The only problem I see is that it will just flood your recent documents, and after reading some mails, you will have none of your "real documents" in the recent list anymore.

These -are- my real documents.

IMO there's conceptually not much difference between opening files from Tracker, Deskbar, a file panel, from an application's file history widget or by Command-Up/Down.

I see Command-Up/Down as a shortcut to Command-W + Command-Up/Down + Command-O, which adds to recent documents.

One could perceive the flooding as one file type crowding out all the other file types one might be interested in, and approach the problem from that angle instead. (E.g. never allow one file type to hold more than 2/3'rds of the limited spots in the recent documents menu, in the presence of other file types.)

Replying to stippi:

(BTW, I can recommend Beam, it's an awesome mail reader. :-)

I used PostMaster before switching to the MDR, and BeatWare Mail-It long before that. The Beam colors don't agree with me, so I will have to investigate a different Beam theme. :))

[humdinger]

One could perceive the flooding as one file type crowding out all the other file types one might be interested in, and approach the problem from that angle instead. (E.g. never allow one file type to hold more than 2/3'rds of the limited spots in the recent documents menu, in the presence of other file types.)

I first thought about introducing another submenu layer for all recent filetypes, but generally don't like menu structures getting deeper.
How about adding the filetype that would make up more than 2/3rd's of the limited spots. That would mean that the "internal spots list" would have to be that much bigger of course.
So after running through e.g. a bunch of emails or images you'll have an "Email" or "Images" subfolder in addition to all other recents documents in the flat list.

[axeld]

There is already the "Recent Applications" menu which also shows the files recently opened with that app. It's at least one useful way to deal with the flooding. I don't know about limiting the file types; I think mails are special, since you have to deal with so many of them in a short time.