Feature for Hazel or a new app idea for you

So... I love Hazel in many ways it really has changed the way that I do things. I would love something like Hazel but that worked in Mail.app the ability to set rules that run over mail folders like my inbox, change colors based on age, move messages to archive, you have helped me achieve a 'desktop zero' how about tackling 'inbox zero'

These tools should pretty much allow you to what you're asking. I am using them for this task and they work very well.

This is not to say that I wouldn't be interested in an alternative solution, especially one from one of my fav app developers: noodlesoft - but if you need/want this functionality now, it is available.

Hope that helps.

Unless I'm misunderstanding you, that functionality exists in Mail right now. Just go to the Rules section in your Mail preferences. Or is there something else you need?

Unless I'm misunderstanding you, that functionality exists in Mail right now. Just go to the Rules section in your Mail preferences. Or is there something else you need?

So the functionality does exist 'kind of' with things like MailActOn and the build in filters. The same could be said for Folder Actions and stuff like that. No the part that is missing is the same thing that Hazel does, it watches, it waits and it acts. What I am picturing is something that would, for example, watch the inbox and if there are messages that have been left unread for two days, moves those messages to a mail folder like "Unread Inbox" messages that have been read that are older then a day get moved to "Inbox Archive" Perhaps it goes further and could trigger defined mail rules, add MailTags, color messages based on age.

The thing that makes Hazel so useful for me is that I don't even realize that it's working, yet I now can look in folders tell the relative age of things by inspection., my desktop is clean (even though I might have apps I'm developing spitting log files out there during the day, I know they will get cleaned up)

It is the idea that there is something managing the time relative information in mail to filter 'later'. I haven't found anything that operates like Hazel in the background keeping mail organized like Hazel can keep my filesystem (or at least parts of it) managed

Sam D

Ah, I see. I'll think about it but it may be a hard sell as there is no official Mail plugin API. The current apps that plug into Mail use undocumented API which is unstable. Basically, it is a risk for a commercial product.

In addition, seeing as Mail has rules already, it will take some convincing that they need a better version of them. With Hazel, I do get comparisons to folder actions which share some functionality but don't work as well. Nonetheless, I sometimes have to overcome this type of comparison and said comparison would be greater with Mail.

Of the two, if the first obstacle is eliminated (Apple releases a real plugin API for Mail), I could see myself doing this. Otherwise, you risk having the rug pulled out from underneath you by Apple.

Yea that whole no public plug in api is a deal stopper, wonder if I could work a cron script that would fire an applescript to walk the inboxes and do some simple org/ coloring at least daily or something.

Always hoping....

sdevore, good points and I have to agree... as I would love to see something like Hazel check things for me, however the #1 program that I am in all day (besides Textmate) is Mail, so with ActOn and some good rulesets and smartboxes, I get most of what I would need from a "Mail Hazel" anyways.

I really don't know why Apple is so lame about extending Mail.app. There could be a major segment of the market for people to add functionality to their program.. but then again, this IS Apple that we're talking aboout, I guess.