Letterbox: view Mail in widescreen mode

Written by Topher Kessler

Apple's Mail email client is a great and widely used program that shows the mailboxes section to the left, with the message list and message viewer on top of each other to the right. While this layout works great for the most part, there are many people who might benefit from or desire to have the layout in column view.

Unfortunately Apple does not provide ways to change the interface layout in Mail, but the Mail plugin "letterbox," by Aaron Harnly, is an add-on that will allow for Mail to move the message viewer to the right of the email list. This will keep the interface in a three-column format instead of the standard, more compressed layout, and may be more convenient for people who use widescreen monitors since it allows for more messages to be viewed when the program window is in a larger aspect ratio.

The plugin is still in beta form, but the developer has a build coming for Snow Leopard so development is in progress. The plugin works as advertised, and is easy to remove if there are problems that arise. Check it out if you're interested: http://harnly.net/software/letterbox/

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Topher has been an avid Mac user for the past 10-15 years, and has been a contributing author to MacFixIt for just over a year now. One of his diehard passions has been troubleshooting Mac problems and making the best use of Macs and Apple hardware both for family and friends, as well as in the workplace. He and the newly formed MacFixIt team are hoping to bring enhanced and more personable content to our readers, and keep the MacFixIt community going here at CNET. If you have questions or comments for Topher or the other MacFixIt editors, feel free to contact us at http://www.macfixit.com/contact

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