I have gone back and forth on this for a few months, and I’m not sure at all that this would be a good feature for DTP - but my suggestion is a basic integrated POP/IMAP client to pull e-mail straight into a database’s inbox, and keep copies of sent messages.
My hesitation is duplication of functionality - in theory, there are so many good full featured options already (Mail, Airmail, Outlook, etc).
On the other hand, I’ve experienced (and based on all of the forum posts, others have too) all the issues with Mail rules, and the difficulty of getting a streamlined and reliable workflow between DTP and a mail client.
Would it make sense to implement a basic POP/IMAP client in DTP?
I wouldn’t imagine it would be so much “a client” but a more direct channel for getting emails into DEVONthink. I would think you’d still have need for your main email client.
In a way, I could see that DEVONtechnologies could add value to a mail client. The ability to find what’s related to what else is very valuable. But I think DEVONsphere is probably a better way to serve that need than trying to do a MUA.
I agree a “full featured” e-mail client is not a priority - but just like the RSS client in DTP and the scanning interfaces, a basic direct IMAP or POP import to get e-mail into DTP as quickly and easily as possible would be a much appreciated addition. Thank you for considering this idea!
Back in my PC days, I used a program called InfoSelect, which in many ways could be considered the Windows equivalent of DEVONthink. InfoSelect includes a full-featured built-in email client that’s advanced enough to completely replace your standalone email client.
I have to say, I really miss the convenience of that workflow. There’s something incredibly efficient about being able to spend 90% of your time using a single application, rather than constantly switching back and forth between multiple applications. For example, DT has an Inbox, but my DT Inbox rarely gets used for anything. The only time I use it is when I want to save a document directly to DT from an external application. Imagine if your DT Inbox could be configured to automatically receive mail and imagine if after receiving mail, you could immediately move it to the appropriate folder in DT or reply to it without leaving DT. Email would then become just another document that flows into your DT database automatically and could flow out just as easily. In fact, there would no longer be a distinction between email documents and any other documents. Any document in your database could be emailed and emails that come into your database could be filed and organized just like any other document.
I’ve constructed an advanced GTD system in DT which I use to manage my daily tasks and long-term projects. The only weakness in my system is that the majority of my “tasks” are actually emails that have to be responded to or otherwise dealt with. Therefore, I end up using DT to manage my manually created tasks and the inbox and folders in my email client to manage email tasks. If an email task becomes significant enough, then I manually create a corresponding task or project in DT. The system works, but it’s not nearly as efficient as it would be if DT was a first-class email client. The idea of merging email with GTD is currently a very hot trend and for good reason. Applications like Mailbox, Handle, Mail Pilot and many others support this very workflow, though none of them have the advanced organizational capabilities of DEVONthink.
Since DT has a database, folders, etc… and since it supports text and HTML documents, it already has 90% of the capabilities of an email client. It also has the ability to import emails, though not directly via IMAP. If you added IMAP and SMTP, you’d almost have a real email client. By adding a few minor features beyond that, you’d be able to completely replace your standalone email client.
I also used Infoselect for many years and it was way ahead of its time. Also used it on a palm organizer. Search was amazingly fast , like DT. DT has a lot of additional features, but that is an interesting point about email capability.
