Smarterware » Better Gmail 2

Better Gmail and Better GReader Now Firefox 4-compatible

Gina Trapani — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 23:12:45 +0000

Firefox 4 beta users: the two most popular "Better" Extensions I put together, Better Gmail 2 and Better GReader, are now compatible with the Firefox 4 beta. Download them now. I haven't had much time to dedicate to the Better extensions lately, but I'd love to create Chrome versions as well as get the less-popular siblings up to date (like Better YouTube and Better Flickr). If you've got the time or inclination to help make that happen, let me know in the comments or on the mailing list. Thanks in advance.

Better Gmail 2 and Better Flickr Updated

Gina Trapani — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:41:20 +0000

Released a few fix-it updates to the Better Gmail 2 and Better Flickr Firefox extensions this week, which you can get by pressing the "Find Updates" button in your extensions dialog box.

Better Gmail 2 version 1.2 plays catch-up with Google's latest changes to Gmail: Hide Spam Count now works, and I swapped out Folders4Gmail (which no longer works) with Label Links, a script that does something similar to the Labs version of Nested Labels. Also replaced the CPU-hogging Highlight Rows with Keyboard script with something that does the same thing without the performance hit. Better Flickr also got a much needed once-over, and now doesn't break editing photo descriptions when Rich Edit Controls are turned on. Enjoy the updates! As always, questions about the extensions should go to the Better Firefox Extensions mailing list.

New in Better Gmail 2: Hide Buzz Count and Audio Notification

Gina Trapani — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:22:11 +0000

Mozilla just approved my latest update to the Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension, which now includes the ability to hide your unread Buzz count, and enable an audio notification when you receive new mail.

Thanks to Victor Zhang for creating the Hide Buzz Count script and Yansky for Gmail Sound Notify, and for giving me permission to include them in Better Gmail 2. Press play below to hear the new mail notification sound.

If you've already got the extension installed, click on the "Find Updates" button in Firefox's Add-ons dialog to get the new version. Otherwise, download Better Gmail 2 from Mozilla Add-ons.

Better Gmail 2 Updated

Gina Trapani — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:41:54 +0000

Google's Gmail tweak broke some of the more popular features of my Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension this week, including Folders4Gmail and Hide Spam Count. Thanks to the quick work of Arend v. Reinersdorff, the problems have been fixed. If you're a Better Gmail 2 user and your labels aren't collapsing properly or your Spam count is showing when it shouldn't, hit the "Find Updates" button in Firefox's Add-ons dialog to get the fix, or download the most recent version directly from Mozilla Add-ons. Thanks for your patience and for using the extension. As always, news and discussion about the whole series of Better extensions is always posted on the mailing list.

Better Gmail 2′s Favicon Unread Count Fixed

Gina Trapani — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:24:22 +0000

Just released a fixer-upper version of the Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension which cleans up some wreckage a recent Gmail API change left behind. Specifically, the change broke Eric Bogs' and Peter Wooley's excellent favicon alert scripts, and man did THAT upset users. Happily, Eric and Peter came up with fixes right quick, and version 0.9.7 includes them. Here's where to get it.

Updating the Better Extensions for Firefox 3.6

Gina Trapani — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:57:10 +0000

Now that the Firefox 3.6 beta is available for download (portable version is here), it's time to start updating the Better Firefox extensions. The most popular ones, Better Gmail 2 and Better GReader, are already 3.6-compatible; the rest will come in the next few weeks. As always, join the Google Group to ask questions or make comments about the Better Firefox extensions.

Better Gmail 2 Updated

Gina Trapani — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:40:29 +0000

Just pushed the latest version of the Better Gmail 2 Firefox add-on I maintain to Mozilla Add-ons, now with new options for favicon alerts and attachment icons. Here are full details and the changelog.

Better Gmail 2 Now Summarizes Unread Messages by Sender

Gina Trapani — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:17:00 +0000

The latest version of the Better Gmail 2 Firefox add-on boasts a useful new feature: a summary panel of unread email grouped by sender, as shown above. In version 0.9 of the add-on, check off the "Summarize Unread Messages by Sender" checkbox (on the General tab) to see a listing like this one above your inbox, or any label or search result listing. Click on any name with the number of messages next to it to filter down to just those messages. This new user script is courtesy of developer Winston Teo, who explains how he uses this grouping to clear out his Gmail inbox.

Also new in version 0.9: a disabled-by-default "Support This Add-on via Amazon" option. When you opt into that feature, your purchases at Amazon kick back a small referral fee that helps support development on all the Better add-ons. Thanks in advance for your willingness to check that box. See the rest of the changelog or just download Better Gmail 2 version 0.9 here.

Better Gmail 2 Updated for Gmail’s Label Enhancements

Gina Trapani — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:56:10 +0000

Google's recent improvements to Gmail's labels broke one of Better Gmail 2's most-loved features: Folders4Gmail. Folders4Gmail displays labels with slashes in them as subfolders of a parent label, and I must say, I've missed it a whole lot this week.

Luckily, rockstar userscripter Arend v. Reinersdorff updated Folders4Gmail to work with Gmail's new drag-and-drop, hide-and-show label mechanism, and I just posted his new version in the extension. Grab the newest version 0.8.3 of Better Gmail 2 to get back Folders4Gmail functionality as well as Hide Spam Count. Check out what Folders4Gmail looks like in action in the screenshot. Arend recommends showing all your labels to get full-on subfolder action with Folders4Gmail enabled.

Also, thanks to the product manager at Google Apps who contacted me and Arend personally, apologized for making the label changes without sooner notice, and offered support and encouragement for updating the script and add-on. That was a nice big pat on the back for something a lot of developers have put time into. (Thanks also to the users who contacted Google asking them for their subfolders back!)

Until Mozilla Add-ons approves the newest version of Better Gmail 2, check off "Let me install this experimental add-on" next to version 0.8.3 here: Better Gmail 2.

Gmail Label Improvements Reduce Need for Folders (and Sub-folders)

Gina Trapani — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:40:06 +0000

Google's rolling out some improvements to Gmail labels today, including drag-and-drop labeling, smart hiding of labels you use less often, and a location promotion to right below your inbox. Gmail product manager Todd Jackson told me that about 29% of users actually try out labels in Gmail at all, and these tweaks aim to increase that number.

Label Placement

Folder-loving users will now find labels right underneath their Inbox, Starred, Sent Mail, and Drafts items, where folders would typically go in a desktop email program like Outlook. Labels you use the most will show in the list, the rest will collapse into a drop-down menu. You can show or hide any label by clicking on the down arrow next to it and choosing the option from the list. (As someone who names my folders things like _FOLLOWUP to get them alphabetized at the top of my list, this smart ordering makes me happy as well as the people who never use labels.)

Here's what it looks like.

Drag and Drop Conversations into Labels

Another slick web-as-desktop feature is the ability to drag and drop conversations into a label. Personally I prefer the keyboard shortcuts, but this is really nice for mouse-lovers.

What About Subfolders?

Given the popularity of the excellent Folders4Gmail Greasemonkey user script (included in my Better Gmail 2 extension), I had to ask Jackson about subfolders. He said that the Gmail team is committed to labels, but that they have been asked about and discussed subfolders before. In general they want to keep the interface as clean and simple as possible. He also said that user requests for subfolders have declined over time, which means users are getting more comfortable and having their needs fulfilled with straight-up labels. (Of course, Gmail's IMAP implementation still creates subfolders for labels that contain slashes.)

I'm not sure what the fate of Folders4Gmail is in light of these new Gmail changes. Either way, you should see them in both your Google Apps and vanilla Gmail account by the end of the day.

Labels: drag and drop, hiding, and more [Official Gmail Blog]