139484 - Add label counts to optional folder pane columns

Status: NEW

(SeaMonkey :: MailNews: Message Display, enhancement)

Description

[gekacheka]

From Bugzilla Helper:
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.0rc1)
Gecko/20020417
BuildID:    2002041711 (1.0rc1)

I often mark a message as important or todo, but since my mail is sorted into
more than one folder (different projects, relationships, etc.), they cannot all
appear in the thread pane, and I forget about important and todo messages in
other folders.  I suggest adding optional folder columns for label counts, which
provides an option to make the presence of labeled message(s) visible in the
folder pane.

1. Add Optional Folder Columns for Labels
The left folder pane now has 
  Unread
  Total
as optional columns.

I suggest also adding the label counts as optional columns, like
  Important
  Todo
etc.  

2. Use the Label Color for the Label Count Numeral
I suggest that the count numeral be colored the same color as the label, as a
further aid to distinguishing the columns and identifying which column is which.   

3. Use blank for zero.
I suggest a count of zero appear as blank rather than "0", so that folders with
non-zero counts stand out, and folders with zero counts do not draw unnecessary
attention (no need to be drawn to a red "0").

4. Unknown counts display as "-"
Label counts might be cached in the .msf file.  Folders with no .msf file, or
whose .msf file hasn't been loaded yet, would display "-" in the column to
indicate they haven't been counted yet.  The number would be updated when the
folder is visited.  ("-" is less intrusive than "?"; most folder label counts
will probably be zero for most people.) 

5. Hierarchical counts on closed folder subtree.
It would also be nice to have hierarchical counts some day, though this is lower
priority.  A folder that contains other folders would have counts that total the
counts of it and the folders it contains when the folder subtree is closed.


Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1. categorize messages into multiple folders, say, by project or relationship
2. mark messages as "important" or "todo" in one of the folders
3. visit another folder

Actual Results:  No indication that folder contains "important" or "todo" items.

Expected Results:  in folder tree, optional folder label count column (in
corresponding label color) makes presence of "important" or "todo" items visible
(use blank for zero, "-" for uncounted).

Comment 1

[Sagie Maoz]

Will this be solved by Bug 115614?

Comment 2

[gekacheka]

No, a profile-wide virtual folder (bug 115614) containing all important items,
or all todo items, provides only a total count for all important items or all
todo items, and loses distinctions made by filtering messages into subfolders.  

For example, suppose I use filtering to separate email messages for different
projects/clients/friends/etc.  When I'm going to meet with several of them later
(not all of them) or when I receive a call, I want to see at a glance whether I
have, in just those projects/relationships, any important/todo issues that need
to be resolved before I meet.   
 * works: Label count columns in the folder pane for important labels and for
todo labels will tell me 'at a glance' for each of those relationship folders
whether there are items with those labels that I need to address.
 * Not: A profile-wide virtual folder will only tell me at a glance if I have
any important/todo items in all relationships, and I'd have to go to the
important and todo folders and search (not 'at a glance') or go to each
individual folder and scan (not 'at a glance') to figure out the items in each
individual relationship.   

Thanks for pointing out the related labeling rfe.