Menu Bar Option, Please

I have a pro license for both version 6 and version 7, which I have purchased to support development. I have recommended the program to many colleagues at my workplace.

I’ve finally updated to version 7, and like the look, but am seriously dismayed at the disappearance of the fully functional menu bar and its replacement by the aesthetically pleasing but dysfunctional (because it adds to the number of clicks necessary to accomplish anything) menu in the upper left. I would plead for an option to restore the old menu bar.

I otherwise love eMC, but I must say the prime reason I switched from Outlook to eMC is the arbitrary decisions Microsoft made regarding the menu bars in Office.

As a starter, more “available items” could be added to the customize feature on the abbreviated menu bar, along with an option to move it to the left instead of centering it.

Thanks!

(new user here) I would certainly love to see “Settings,” at the least, as one of the options for the customizable menu bar (plus a dedicated keystroke to open the Settings dialog). As someone who might or might not once have worked at Microsoft :slight_smile: I can say with reasonable accuracy that a number of people there were not thrilled by the introduction of a ribbon-bar-only UI and the disappearance of the classic menus. (But what Office wants, Office gets.) If eMC had been designed with ribbon bars I would not have wanted it.

Another +1 for bringing back the menu bar.  I’m regretting upgrading now. 
It’s bad enough having to put up with the bland windows 10 look but it would be nice if companies would stop removing useful features in their ‘upgrades’.

And another vote for expanded main menu bar by default, OR AT LEAST, the option to change it to a fixed expanded menu in the settings. I’m another one who hates this over-aggressive approach taken by some software companies nowadays when trying to go for a cleaner interface. That “menu” option in top corner as it stands is clearly just not nearly obvious enough to most users (as I can see from laods of other commenst about it), and it also means users have to carry out more clicks than necessary for many functions. PLEASE review this!

Hello,
thank you for the feedback and sharing your idea on the forum.

I’d just like to include some of our reasons for changing the Main menu:
According to our telemetry only few users actually use the top menu.
Putting it under the menu button also allowed for more vertical space (which was critical for computers/notebooks with smaller display resolutions and tablets.).
The same menu shortcuts should still work, so that’s something to try if you access the menu often.
 
If you have any operations that give you trouble and that you need often, we’d appreciate details and specific examples of why and how you use the main menu.

Regards,
Olivia

I want my menu bar, telemetry or not.  1 1/2 lines of email list is not worth having to learn yet another layer/barrier to getting things done.

Also, what’s with the centered controls???  Our muscle memory has been trained since the very first desktops to look left.  And any changes to the controls shifts all of their absolute positions. Please don’t mistake this as good design.  IIABDFI!

Cheers!

David Stubbs

 

Hello David,
as I mentioned above, stating an example of which feature in the Main Menu you need to access so often would be a very helpful feedback.

Regards,
Olivia

I started this, and I agree with David.Telemetry or not, I’m back using eM Client 6, even though I paid for version 7, largely because of the hassle of navigating the new minimalist menu design.  Notice, however, I said “option.”  It should be possible. If folks want a “cleaner” look or more space for their tablets, let them have it.

I frequently access the file menu to save a draft, the settings menu to tweak my various signatures, etc.  And I agree with David also about “muscle memory” expecting the menu options on the upper left, not in the center.

If you could at least add more options for the customizable memory bar, and an option to show it on the left, that would be an improvement. But as johnshr writes above, " it would be nice if companies would stop removing useful features in their ‘upgrades’."

Thanks for listening.  Lance

And the movement of the search box - I think- is a frustrating spot. 

Hello Lance,
thank you for the feedback, we already plan to move some features around to be more accessible (thank to exact cases from other users).

In New Mail window we already plan these changes for version 7.1:

  • Mass Mail and Delayed send will be moved to a menu under ‘Send’ (under the arrow option, the same way you can choose New>Message/Contact/etc.)
  • Save draft, Print, Mail Format and Check Spelling will be available as buttons in the customizable Toolbar.

Also, I think it is much easier to edit Signatures now using the New Mail window as well…
 
In my own opinion, new way of doing something doesn’t always mean worse :wink:

Regards,
Olivia

Olivia,

Thanks for your thoughtful response. There’s always a chance that a grouchy old person like myself is just stuck in his ways . . .  :slight_smile:

Keep up the good work!  Lance

I’m a new eMC user, and generally am very impressed with its functionality and appearance - I installed it because I have had enough of the awful Gmail web interface.

However, one very negative feature is the utterly bizarre “menu” button, sitting in what’s otherwise empty space on the top bar - with no way of changing it for a proper menu bar in the same space!  I’m flabbergasted by this, and I must admit it has been rather irritating, to say the least, to have to keep going back to this silly button again and again in order then to navigate to the actual menu.  An incomprehensible feature!

I hope you will restore at least an option to have a proper set of menus?  If not, presumably I can “upgrade” to the old version 6, which I gather has menus?  

What a shame in an otherwise very sensibly laid-out client!

Thanks…

I see this complaint quite a bit, but I rarely use the menu. Most things I need are on the toolbar, so I never consider it a problem.

Errr… goodo!  To be honest I’m not entirely sure how that helps my situation…:  I wasn’t actually suggesting that it be made compulsory, rather that there should be an option.  

I wasn’t trying to be flippant, just saying that as you use the program more, maybe you won’t miss the menus either.

I’ve just upgraded to 7.0 and what I’ve noticed that I miss “replied” and “forwarded” arrows which were present in ver. 6.0. Or at least I cannot set them visibile. All I get now is a simple single line notification in the message preview pane which actually doesn’t help much. Now the email list simply shows whether you’ve read the message or not. And if you want to know whether the actual message is treated somehow then you have to jump with the eyes up and down. If the arrows are difficult to get back then the notification line should be somehow more visible and distinctive as to whether “replied” or “forwarded”.

Like many others- I regret upgrading. How do I go back?!?!
I miss the menu toolbars!

The notifications are not there in the conversation mode, as the message list combines conversations on one line.  However, There are messages on each message on the reading pane (“you replied to this message…”),  Another option is to disable conversations or select “Show conversations in message detail only” (both at menu/tools/settings/mail read).  With these two options, the reply and forward indicators act as they did in v6.

I will say that unless you are a fan of conversations (I am) there is, in my opinion, no compelling reason to upgrade to v 7.  From what I can surmise, wait for v 7.1.

As we usability consultants know, the more you use even a lame UI, the more intuitive it becomes. (crazy-eyed emoticon goes here).  Not easier, just remembered.