July 5th, 2005
Now you see mail, now you don’t...
Spanish
Version *links to another site
New product features are always introduced with the best of intentions,
but unfortunately, sometimes the implementation can cause unexpected issues
to arise. One such feature, View Unread / View All, was introduced
in the Notes 6 Mail file. While the ability to view only unread documents
in a Notes view has been in Lotus Notes for a while (View - Show - Unread
Only), making it more accessible in the Notes 6 mail file has lead to HelpDesk
calls and problem posts in the Notes
6 developerWorks forum, where
users think they have lost email.
Here is how the feature works. On the right hand side of the action
bar in the Notes 6 in-box there is an action button labeled "View
Unread".
When you click on it, all emails in your in-box that you have already read
will disappear. Don't panic... they are not deleted, they are not
even removed from the in-box folder. They are simply "filtered-out"
or hidden.
When View Unread is turned on, the action button will change to "View
All". When you want to view all the documents again simply
press the button.
The reason some users have gotten scared when their mail "disappeared"
is that there is no "extremely noticeable" indicator that your
are currently in "View Unread Only" state. Starting with
Notes 7, the Window Title Bar for Lotus Notes and the Notes window tab
(when the mouse hovers over it) do indicate that "Unread Documents
Only" are being seen...
but I still think it would be nice to have something shown to the user
that they simply can not miss. Maybe a new "status bar"
along the top of the view just below the action bar, or a change in view's
background colour, but that would not work for visually impaired.
In general, this feature is extremely useful, allowing you to more easily
manage vast numbers of emails. However, it can be disheartening
to users when they think they have "lost" email. Proper
understanding/training regarding this feature can help eliminate "user
panic"!
