'Done' button for emails in inbox

[Bill]

I understand that it is possible to MOVE TO FOLDER emails and also MOVE TO TRASH or REMOVE, however MOVE TO DONE (DISREGARD/ARCHIVE) would maybe be a good option. As now it takes too long to select that folder with a lot of emails. Most of the time you need to keep a copy of an email, but you do not need it in your inbox...

[Bill]

Maybe next to the option 'MOVE TO TRASH', an option 'MOVE TO ARCHIVE'?

-- Ofcourse it should be able for users to TRASH an email... But often you have emails you need to keep for archiving purposes, but are useless to keep in the INBOX or in a FOLDER... (and choosing a folder ARCHIVE takes too much time...)

[SoBeGuy]

I'm also surprised that this feature doesn't exist in Espo.

1. In the email account settings, we should be able to specify an Archive folder, the same way we can specify a Sent folder.
2. In the email action dropdown, we should be able to select "Archive" to move an email to the Archive folder.
3. Next to the action dropdown, there should be buttons for Archive and Trash.

These features would make it way more convenient to manage email in Espo.

[yuri]

> In the email account settings, we should be able to specify an Archive folder, the same way we can specify a Sent folder.

This won't work. Contradicts how emails work in Espo.

How is this different than just moving to a folder? One can select multiple emails and drag-n-drop to a folder.

[SoBeGuy]

This won't work. Contradicts how emails work in Espo.

I don't understand what you mean. In what way does it contradict how emails work in Espo?

1. We have an Inbox, which is like a ToDo list of emails that need to be processed.
2. When we receive an email in the inbox, we either take some action like creating a task, or ignore the email if it's non-actionable.
3. In either scenario, the email should no longer be in the inbox. Otherwise the inbox will fill up with thousands of emails, which defeats the purpose of an inbox.
4. Ideally, after processing an email, it should be moved to an Archive folder. This way, it's still available for reference in Espo, but it's not cluttering up the inbox. if the email is useless, it should be moved to the Trash folder.

How is this different than just moving to a folder?

I don't understand what you're asking. Yes, both Archive and Trash are folders, but they're used more frequently than other folders. That's why every conventional email client has dedicated buttons for Archive and Trash. Currently, to move an item to Archive or Trash, you have to:

1. Click the Action menu
2. Select "Move to folder"
3. Click the desired folder.

Thus it requires three clicks and a lot of extra mouse movement to perform the archive/trash action on each new email. This would be much faster and more convenient if we had dedicated buttons for Archive and Trash.

[yuri]

In what way does it contradict how emails work in Espo?

An imported email in Espo is not connected to an email account anymore. We can't have a Folder field there.

Otherwise the inbox will fill up with thousands of emails, which defeats the purpose of an inbox.

I was always believing that the majority of people lets the Inbox grow. But I'm not sure how it's in reality.

I don't understand what you're asking. Yes, both Archive and Trash are folders,

It may go along with additional features, not just a plain folder. E.g. Gmail may bring emails back from Archived automatically if I'm not mistaken. And there's no folder on UI (at least on my Gmail). That's why I'm asking.

[yuri]

As I understand, the purpose of the Folder in Email Account is the ability to sync Archive with the mailbox? In theory it could be implemented, but there're some hurdles, not a no-brainer.

[yuri]

Worth to mention that we have shortcuts:

• Ctrl + Delete – move to trash
• Ctrl + I – mark as important or not-important
• Ctrl + M – move to a folder

[SoBeGuy]

yuri You're misunderstanding what I'm asking for. I totally understand that email imported into Espo is disconnected from the original email on the mail server. However, there's still a need to manage imported emails within Espo itself.

You mentioned that you assumed most people just let their inbox grow. That's definitely not the most efficient way to use the inbox. From my experience, most people use their inbox as a ToDo list for email that needs to be processed. Once processed, it's filed (archived). In fact, there's a whole methodology called Inbox Zero that teaches people how to increase their productivity by reducing the amount of mail in their inbox, with the goal being an empty inbox.

Gmail calls their archive folder "All Mail", because it literally contains all mail from all folders. When you archive an email in Gmail, it simply removes it from the inbox, because it's already in the All Mail folder. It does not bring archived mail back automatically. I guess the Espo "All" folder works the same way? If that's correct, then maybe we don't need a separate archive folder. As in Gmail, the Archive button would remove the email from the inbox, but it would remain in the "All" folder.

Thank you for mentioning the keyboard shortcuts. Those are useful, but I still think you should have buttons for Archive and Trash.

[yuri]

I totally understood except the very first item in your initial post, about selecting the archive folder in the email account. I assumed its purpose is syncing an email with the mailbox it was imported from. We select a remote Archive folder for an mailbox. Then, whenever we archive email in Espo, it will be also archived in the IMAP mailbox.

Or you meant to select an Espo folder to mark it as an archive? That would be against the Espo's design to have the parameter there. Better if the Archive folder is created automatically. The way the Trash folder is.

Regarding Gmail, it brings an email back to Inbox when the archived email was replied. At least docs say. Not saying I would like this functionality, but asking an opinion.

I guess the Espo "All" folder works the same way?

No. In Espo, 'All' folder shows all emails a user has access to, regardless if an email is from their Inbox or from other user's Inbox.

That's definitely not the most efficient way to use the inbox.

I think both 'Zero Inbox' and 'Infinite Inbox' can be efficient. With the former, one removes non actual emails from the Inbox, with the latter, one marks emails that matter to review them later. If the vast majority of incoming emails are not meant to be dealt with, the 'Infinite Inbox' results in less amount of work as there would be more clicking on Archive button with the 'Zero Inbox' method than marking Important (or Moving to a folder) with the 'Infinite Inbox' method. Just my thoughts.

[rabii]

I find it hard to manage an email inbox but lately i start to learn more on how it could be done, being inspired by some cool features from hey.com and even i am tinkering around to see if possible to apply some feature into espocrm email. it would be cool and super efficient to use emails that way.

[SoBeGuy]

I totally understood except the very first item in your initial post, about selecting the archive folder in the email account. I assumed its purpose is syncing an email with the mailbox it was imported from. We select a remote Archive folder for an mailbox. Then, whenever we archive email in Espo, it will be also archived in the IMAP mailbox.

Or you meant to select an Espo folder to mark it as an archive? That would be against the Espo's design to have the parameter there. Better if the Archive folder is created automatically. The way the Trash folder is.

Yes, I meant to designate an Espo folder as the Archive folder. So when you click the Archive button, it would move the email to that folder in Espo. However, since Espo already has an "All" folder, I believe a better approach would be to remove the email from the inbox, but leave it in All. This would be consistent with how Gmail works.

Regarding Gmail, it brings an email back to Inbox when the archived email was replied. At least docs say. Not saying I would like this functionality, but asking an opinion.

Yes and no. Unlike conventional email clients that treat each email as a standalone entity, Gmail groups emails into "conversations". A conversation is basically a thread of emails with the same person and the same subject. For example, you email someone and they reply. Now you have a conversation. When you open the reply in your inbox, you see a thread containing your original email and the reply. This is a good innovation because it provides context, rather than having to remember what you sent in your original email. Now you reply back and you choose the "Send and Archive" option. This sends the email and simultaneously archives it. Now it's in All Mail, but no longer in your inbox. Next the recipient replies back, which causes the conversation to be moved back to your inbox. So yes, in a sense, archived emails are moved back to the inbox, but only because they're part of a conversation, providing context for the latest reply.

It would be awesome to have the option of a conversation view for emails in Espo. The current approach of treating each email as a standalone entity is quite dated. Most modern email clients follow the Gmail approach of viewing emails in conversations, or at least give the user the option. Taking it a step further, since Espo is a CRM, emails are attached to contacts. Therefore, it would be great if we could view all emails from each contact in a continuous consolidated stream. This would be like a conversation view, but not limited to a single subject. Sometimes there may be multiple people in a company communicating with a contact. In this case, it would be advantageous for all users to be able to view all communications in a single stream, so everyone knows what everyone else has been communicating to the contact. You could also provide a filter option, in case you only want to view your own communications with the contact.

No. In Espo, 'All' folder shows all emails a user has access to, regardless if an email is from their Inbox or from other user's Inbox.

Yeah, I realize that, but I'm not sure that it matters. For me, the important point is that all my emails are available in the All folder and therefore remain searchable and linked to other CRM records. The fact that emails from other users also appear in All doesn't necessarily detract from that. Again, you could provide a filter, whereby All could show all emails from all users or just all of your own emails.

I think both 'Zero Inbox' and 'Infinite Inbox' can be efficient. With the former, one removes non actual emails from the Inbox, with the latter, one marks emails that matter to review them later. If the vast majority of incoming emails are not meant to be dealt with, the 'Infinite Inbox' results in less amount of work as there would be more clicking on Archive button with the 'Zero Inbox' method than marking Important (or Moving to a folder) with the 'Infinite Inbox' method. Just my thoughts.

I get your point. I guess it just depends on how your brain works. For me, I get anxious when I have more than a dozen emails in my inbox because I think of emails as ToDo items. If they're still in my inbox, it means I haven't dealt with them. However, whenever my mom asks for help with something on her computer, I notice she has something like 40,000 emails in her inbox lol. I couldn't even imagine.

[yuri]

The fact that emails from other users also appear in All doesn't necessarily detract from that. Again, you could provide a filter, whereby All could show all emails from all users or just all of your own emails.

I can imagine my case. If I move an email to the Archive accidentally, it will be difficult to find it in the 'All' folder as it will be lost between hundreds of emails. Hence, I believe having the Archive folder is reasonable.

[yuri]

It would be awesome to have the option of a conversation view for emails in Espo. The current approach of treating each email as a standalone entity is quite dated. Most modern email clients follow the Gmail approach of viewing emails in conversations, or at least give the user the option. Taking it a step further, since Espo is a CRM, emails are attached to contacts. Therefore, it would be great if we could view all emails from each contact in a continuous consolidated stream. This would be like a conversation view, but not limited to a single subject. Sometimes there may be multiple people in a company communicating with a contact. In this case, it would be advantageous for all users to be able to view all communications in a single stream, so everyone knows what everyone else has been communicating to the contact. You could also provide a filter option, in case you only want to view your own communications with the contact.

It's a bit off topic. Contact already has the Stream. In B2C mode, I believe, emails should be logged there. In B2B mode, in Account. Or in a Case, Opportunity, Lead. I wouldn't create a separate Stream for Emails only. If needed, improve the current Stream rather.

[SoBeGuy]

It's a bit off topic. Contact already has the Stream. In B2C mode, I believe, emails should be logged there. In B2B mode, in Account. Or in a Case, Opportunity, Lead. I wouldn't create a separate Stream for Emails only. If needed, improve the current Stream rather.

Suggested improvement:

When you click an email in the stream, it should open in a side modal. This way, you can read the email within the context of the stream. Additionally, there should be left/right arrows at the top of the modal to navigate through the email thread.

[yuri]

When you click an email in the stream, it should open in a side modal.

It's already possible by clicking on the icon in the left.

P.S. We need a separate documentation article explaining all small UI features.
P.P.S. We are already off topic.