Switching from Entourage 04 to iCal/Mail/Address Book

October 19, 2007 5:21 PM

I just switched from Entourage 2004 to Mail.app/iCal/Address Book. What techniques and/or add-ons should I be using?

So far, I have only installed a script that allows me to have a different reply to: address than I send from, and I am planning on trying MailTags later tonight, which I think will at least let me categorize archived mail like I could with Entourage. What else should i know?

Ideally, I'm looking for:
- Advice on your best/favorite ways to set up smart folders/smart mailboxes.
- Any opinions on MailActOn (or similar applications)
- Advice on good ways to turn email into events, now that I can't ^E like I could in Entourage.
- Any other good downloads I'm not thinking of.

I use a hosted version of Tracks (tracks.tra.in) for tasks/projects, so I think I'm good there, but I open to suggestions. I also sync to a PalmOS Treo, in case that is relevant.

Thanks in advance. Going from having everything in one application to having it in four seems a little weird, but I'm committed to learning how best to do this.

posted by 4ster to computers & internet (4 comments total)

This is all very much a matter of taste, but I've written about how I set up custom notifications in mail.

I don't use smart mailboxes much, except for a "flagged" box. I categorize my incoming mail automatically based on rules, with separate boxes for each mailing list I'm on, whether the sender is a friend, a client, etc.
posted by adamrice at 6:47 PM on October 19, 2007

You're almost definitely going to want to spend some time at Hawk Wings--definitely the best blog about Mail.app plugins and integration.
posted by bcwinters at 8:23 PM on October 19, 2007

Those are very cool scripts, adamrice.

The thing about Mail.app is it's a very simple program, without some of the bells and whistles of Entourage, which can be viewed as either good or bad, but the fact that it's integrated with Address Book is really essential for Mac users, I think.

You can set alarms for your iCal events so that you get an email message to remind you of important dates. This free download is essential if you plan on using iCal's alarms.

Something to be careful of: Large mailboxes tend to slow Mail down a lot. I broke my sent box into many smaller boxes to speed it up and it helped. There are also several clean-up programs that you can find at Hawk Wings to speed up Mail.

Also: Set your attachments as "Windows friendly" in preferences or you'll have the one-would-think obsolete problem of PC users not being able to open Word docs you send.
posted by annabellee at 11:30 AM on October 20, 2007

Thanks so much. This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for, especially the "Windows friendly" setting. I had never heard of that.

Please keep the great ideas coming!
posted by 4ster at 1:47 PM on October 20, 2007