Filed under: Productivity, Internet Tools
A browser just for Gmail
In a dual gesture of both kicking Mail.app to the curb and flexing the power of Xcode, Michael McCracken has built his own streamlined browser just for using Gmail. Quirky browser behaviors and avoiding the distractions that come from multiple browser windows and bookmark bars prompted this 10-line coding experiment.
The resulting WebMail.app is exactly what Michael set out to create: a very slim Gmail viewer (you don't even get an address bar) based on WebKit. It works well, though there are quirks when having to do anything browser-related with it. Clicking a link in a message, for example, creates a new window in WebMail.app, not your default browser. Minor quirks aside, if you're in the same boat as Michael and you want a browser window just for using Gmail so you can retain things like your labels and alternate-email address abilities, this might be right up your alley.
Personally, I'm very tempted to use this since I too have joined the ranks of kicking Mail.app to the curb (running it only on occasion to download and archive my email). However, some of the Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail that I've been using in Firefox have become indispensable to how I work with Gmail; being able to move between labels, trash messages and even label messages all with a couple strokes of the keyboard rivals even desktop email app functionality. It would be great to see someone run with WebMail.app (Michael bundles the source in his download) and add some javascript ninja coding to combine the beauty of WebKit with the functionality of those Gmail script abilities to create one rockin' Gmail app.
*sigh* A Gmail-using blogger can dream, can't he?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
B. nystedt said 1:13PM on 5-13-2006
what the heck is wrong with Mail.app? I don't get it! Don't be a hater. Chris Breen was the same way at Macworld this year.
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Shailesh said 1:37PM on 5-13-2006
Can this be enhanced to read all HTTP mail? I am not very familiar with this technology.
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ugh said 1:43PM on 5-13-2006
Those are SOOO easy to make, it is unbelievable. This is not a big deal, AT ALL.
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Chris Coleman said 1:59PM on 5-13-2006
I figured a while back that something like this was only a matter of time. A feature request may be a bit much, but it would be super cool to add the ability to have a tab bar and then be able to open multiple instances of Gmail in those tabs
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Roland said 2:05PM on 5-13-2006
Awesome! It's just like Safari, but pigeon-holed and neutered!
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Ian Charles said 2:15PM on 5-13-2006
Pointless.
Also, whats wrong with Mail? It does what it says on the tin, what else do you want it to do, dance for you?
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Sir Not Appearing in this Blog said 2:34PM on 5-13-2006
According to Ian, having more than one choice is pointless, which makes the Mac pointless because, after all, Windows "does what it says on the tin".
As for being a "hater", well... I think what B. Nystedt means is we should only use the tools Apple provides and no others. Again, choice = BAD.
Correct me if I'm wrong guys. Maybe I'm reading you wrong.
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ChillyWilly said 3:05PM on 5-13-2006
What's wrong with Mail.app? For me, when I first used it last April, it wiped out and deleted all of my messages that I imported into it. I promptly moved to Entourage 2004 and haven't had a single issue since. My IMAP and Hotmail accounts reside side-by-side in harmony. mail.app is not just kicked to the curb... it's been street sweepered away.
For those that do not like MS products, Thunderbird is another good replacement.
As for this GMail only browser, I can't say I'm itching to try it, but it seems like a decent solution. GMail works pretty well under Firefox (which also support Gmail Chat). But if for some reason I get curious, I may give this one a try.
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David Chartier said 3:24PM on 5-13-2006
Mail has caused issues with a lot of people. I myself have run into issues like messages that disappear (from all accounts, including .Mac) and Mail itself hanging when clicking on an unread message that's been sitting in my inbox for over 15 minutes (which means Mail has run at least 3 checks in order to download that message). Mail can turn into a pretty buggy app for some, and of those people, flaky performance like that simply isn't an option.
When comparing Mail to Gmail's abilities, there are discrepancies as well. Mail can't take advantage of Gmail's labels. Nor can it take advantage of Gmail's ability to send/reply to messages from an address other than Gmail's (without having to add those accounts to Mail's preferences which, ultimately, would defeat using that feature of Gmail in the first place).
Also, with the Greasemonkey scripts I mentioned in the post itself (you guys did read the entire post, right?), Gmail becomes a lot more functional than any email app I've seen. Being able to apply labels to messages and even navigate labels with simple keyboard shortcuts is an efficiency dream come true.
Different people prefer different things from software. Using Gmail on the web works out better for some people as opposed to others, especially when considering the bugs that many users have encountered in Mail. If you haven't run into those issues. Great. More power to you.
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szkud said 3:52PM on 5-13-2006
that's how my Camino is already setup.
if you don't use Camino. download it, press the little pill button in the upper right hand and set your homepage to GMail.
hell, rename the application and you've got this application with mozilla support.
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Joshua said 4:26PM on 5-13-2006
I have to agree that this is entirely pointless. Just open a bloody browser window - it's not like you don't have one installed.
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dalton said 4:27PM on 5-13-2006
I don't know, I think it's kinda cool - I'm going to give it a try. I get really annoyed with my firefox always getting so slow because it's got so many tabs open. It might be nice to have a dedicated app just for Gmail.
Needs a better icon, though. I used the one from Gmail Notifier.
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fra said 4:57PM on 5-13-2006
I think Mail.app is a fantastic program, I have my ISP email and Google Mail going in there. I only started using it this month... and compaired to Hotmail and Outlook/Outlook Express, it's fantastic.
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Jack Williams said 7:29PM on 5-13-2006
I've been loving Mail.app... I didn't like it when I had Hotmail because it really didn't support it well, but now that I have a Gmail account (ok, a while ago), I've been using Mail.app because, frankly, I dislike the online Gmail interface. It's just not me. Also, I could give a crap about Gmail labels... and the calendar feature. I just see if I got new mail, have my lovely mail signatures, and use iCal (because I'm good like that... and I also keep my phone's calendar up-to-date...)
I haven't had any bugs except that I can't send mail using my personal webserver's pop account (it's an issue with my server, not mail.app).
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Johnny said 10:29PM on 5-13-2006
I guess I can see using a browser dedicated to Gmail if you're not going to use Mail.app and you don't want email interfering with your web browser. Seems a little weird, but certainly plausible and to each his own.
Why the harsh words on Mail, though? A 'gesture of...kicking [it] to the curb'? Certainly it's not because the Gmail interface is better looking than Mail's. Also, I love how Macs are so easy to use. Not the picture I get when thinking about switching to Firefox, adding Greasemonkey scripts, and memorizing new keystrokes just so I can 'rival even desktop email app functionality' (like the kind I already enjoy with Mail).
There's only one thing that keeps me accessing Gmail from a browser most of the time, and that's Gmail's conversation feature that groups forwarded and replied-to emails together in one subject line. Hopefully, Leopard's iteration of Mail with have something like this. If it does, you'll need a lot more than a custom-made browser to get me to stop using Apple Mail.
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bobinnv said 11:20PM on 5-13-2006
While I'm glad that many people seem to be satisfied with Mail.app, many are not (check out the Apple support forum for Mail sometime!) This dedicated browser is great as far as I'm concerned. It takes up less resources than Mail or a 'full' browser, like Camino, but gives you what you need for using Gmail.
Arguing about what mail program you like better is probably pointless. But if you prefer Gmail, this is a great way to access it.
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Eric said 11:30PM on 5-13-2006
Thunderbird is now Universal Binary, forget about Mail.app, imcompatible issues, stability issues, pure junk.
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Dan said 1:13AM on 5-14-2006
Johnny: Mail.app has a View > Organize by Thread option.
The only problem with this approach (and I understand why it can't be perfect) is that the only way Mail.app has to group messages is by their subject. I happen to have a lot of unrelated "Hi" and "Hey" and "Hello" and "Thoughts" personal emails that are mostly unrelated (and from different authors) and Mail.app groups them together incorrectly, while gmail via Safari keeps the right threads together.
Apart from that I absolutely love Mail.app though, and the ability to access email while away from the web (coming from a mobile user, as hotspots aren't exactly EVERYWHERE yet...) is killer, and gmail will never be able to offer that. Need I say Smart Mailboxes???
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Nikolas Coukouma said 6:34AM on 5-14-2006
1) Open a new window in firefox
2) Load GMail in it
3) Hit View - Status Bar to hide the status bar
4) Hit View - Toolbars - Navigation Toolbar
5) Hit View - Toolbars - Bookmarks Toolbar
6) Enjoy your GMail window
7) Send e-mail to friends about it
8) Hit refresh
9) ...
10) Profit!
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Roger Eberhart said 10:16AM on 5-14-2006
Have you tried Mail Tags and Mail Act-On for Mail.app?
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