Ben Michael Ward is a Web Developer in San Francisco.

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Wanted: Mail.app Auto‑Minimise

I have one complaint about using OSX. With my current scatterbrained leanings, I tend towards ‘losing’ windows. For example, I start writing a mail message, then I app-switch to chat to someone, then I get new mail so I switch to the mail box window and lo! My half-written message is hidden behind that window, never to be seen again until much later in the day.

So, whilst the above behaviour probably diagnoses me with a severe absence of GTD, what I’d like is some sort of Mail.app bundle, background script or magic bean that will monitor all my open message windows and, after that window has been idle for 5 minutes, automatically minimise it; placing it visibly into my Dock. Alternatively, or perhaps in addition to, it could display an additional counter badge on my Mail.app Dock icon to indicate the number of open message windows.

So please God of Mac Christmas, place such an add-in in my stocking.

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2 Responses to “Wanted: Mail.app Auto‑Minimise”

  1. Comment by trovster

    December 24th, 2006 at 12:34 pm

    I get this sometimes. Not for Mail, but anything which has multiple windows. And it’s especially confusing, if you flick virtual-desktop while waiting for it to open/get a prompt. This has happened to me numerous times, when iTunes is asking to import a CD, and I completely lose the prompt. Doesn’t seem to come back with Exposé even.

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  2. Comment by Bruce

    December 29th, 2006 at 12:31 am

    I am having problems with the “Reply” button on Mail since installing Parallels. It takes minutes to open the compose window. This only happens the first time I try to reply.

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