Backup and proposal for improvements

Hello,

may I suggest a couple of improvements? 

  1. the backup operation is quite slow and requires to close the eM Client program. It looks like Email records are copied one at a time.
    I’d suggest to make a copy of the Email files at the OS level. It’s extremely fast, whatever the size is and can be performed whilst the eM Client is running. Once this is done, the backup process can take place in background.
    Advantages: no need to close the Email program, no annoying message: the operation is transparent.

  2. there’s an issue with the focus of the eM Client program and the refresh of the GUI: when opening it in full screen, the task bar doesn’t show up anymore and the eM Client software must be minimized in order to switch to other programs. FUI - I’m using XP (I know its old) and the Auto-hide option for the taskbar.

  3. I’d appreciate a better management of the email synchronization window. I keep using the OS hibernate mode and when resuming, the sync error window shows up. I want to keep it in case of problem during the sync process but I don’t want it when Wifi is just not yet available…

Thanks for the great job with this Email client!

Philippe Schlier
[email protected]

I noticed that with version 7 it’s not necessary to close eM Client program.

I’m using version 6.0.24928.0 and the update process tells me it’s the latest version available. On XP SP3.
Just seen there’s a new V7 on the web, the update program didn’t tell me. I may consider upgrading …

Thanks
Philippe

Hello Phillipe,
thank you for sharing your ideas on the forum where our developers can consider it for future improvements.

As for the backup - each message is not stored separately, the database files are saved. However, the program needs to be closed so no other changes are made during the backup - then the changed made before that are saved to the respective files - and then the files are backed up. This can still take some time with large databases, but we feel that safety of the data is quite important.

The issue with the GUI in XP - could you please provide a screenshot of the bugged toolbar?

As for the hibernating issue, unfortunately, it is not possible to avoid it at this moment as hibernating interferes with the process of saving new information into the database.
We are trying to find a solution, but until then it might be safer to not use hibernation option when eM Client is running (or to have eM client running when hibernating).

Regards,
Olivia

Hello Olivia. First, thanks much for the answers, this is quite rare to get such information direct from the official support team nowadays … :slight_smile:

  1. Backup: I faced the same problem with a product I designed. It was using huge DBs and we needed to make regular backups without any interruption of service since it’s a 24/7 monitoring tool. The solution we found was to lock the DB, make a copy of the DB files at the OS level, which is very quick even for big files, and release the lock. This prevents accessing the DB files during the backup process, which takes a couple of seconds max. There’s no risk of data corruption since files are locked. Then, once the files are copied, you can do whatever you want with them in background, for example, we used to rename them with a day and time stamp, and zip them.

  2. I cannot send you a print shot since I cannot see the taskbar …
    I’m using the Windows toolbar at the bottom of the screen (you know the one with small icons of programs, daytime, the “Start” button and the “Hide toolbar” option. When the eM Client is in full screen, the Toolbar doesn’t show up when I drag the mouse at the bottom of the screen. It works with other software. No big deal but there’s a design issue in the GUI.

  3. not hibernating is not an option for me. I do almost never shutdown Windows. So far, I never experienced a unrecoverable corruption of the eM Client database although it has to be fixed from time to time. With regards to the Sync window, I’m sure that your developers can track the Hibernate event or better detect a network issue and avoid annoying messages when this happens. There are quite a few design options there…

  4. the Search option in a pain and isn’t user friendly at all. Probably the weakest point of your product in my opinion, and it’s a recurring issue with almost all Email clients

BTW: your dev team did a great job, this is so far the best email client I’ve tested including Outlook, Thunderbird, Live mail or Incredimail to list a few (I don’t place Lotus Notes in the same category).

Hope this helps. Best
Philippe

Hello Philippe,
thank you for your feedback and praise, one more thing, can I just ask what you dislike about the Search? :slight_smile:
I’m sure the developers will consider your other points when we’re back to implementing new improvements.

Regards,
Olivia

Sure!

  1. I type in a search string and click the Search icon: then results are displayed and a red cross shows up in place of the Search icon. Clicking it does cancel the search results but then, logically, it should also delete the search string.
    If then I change the search string, I have to click on the red cross and again on the search icon. This is not user friendly, I’d recommend to either:
    a) display 2 buttons, one for a reset of the search and one for processing the search operation (buttons greyed out in case their use is inappropriate) or
    b) clean up the search string after the red cross is clicked and display the search button again

  2. I find the search feature unreliable (…or maybe not following the same logic as me). If I search for the “test” string in my “All mail” folder, only in the Object field, I get messages with the Object such as “Re: PC”. Why are results containing such messages ???
    Try by yourself …
    This is an example among many where I cannot find the Search string within the results of the search

  3. in the Advanced Search, I select only “With attachment”:
    a) I can process the search without selecting the Yes or No option. There should be a default value or an error message

b) in case of such an invalid search, the All mail view gets empty and pressing the red cross icon doesn’t cancel the search. I must select another folder and get back to the All mail folder to cancel the search

c) also in the Advanced search window: I type in “test” in the “All fields” field. The “Request” field in the same window automatically shows up “test, test, test” and when I press the “Search” button, the search string in the Main window also displays "test, test, test’. If I get back to the advanced search, my search string has been changed to “test,test, test”

  1. there’s no boolean operator although the “AND” can be done using the advanced search. When I tried to use a “AND” in the Main window’s search string “charpente AND avonik” I got very strange results, which I can’t explain

To make a long story short, the Search feature is very powerful in some aspects but on the other hand I find it unfriendly, buggy and providing results I can’t trust.
I’d suggest a in-depth rethink of the feature and much more testing and debugging.
In Email, the search is a key feature. In my opinion, it must be intuitive, extremely reliable and easy to understand and use.

I’d be glad to provide additional feedback if needed.

Have a good WE
Philippe