Is Entourage 2008 better than 2004?

J

Jowec

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Power PC
Email Client: pop

Have been using MS Office and Entourage in my Internet business for many years. After some procrastination, have loaded up Office 2008 yesterday. To my surprise, it looks like it has been dumbed down. Some features are missing:

Changing Subject line
------------------------------
The neat button to revise Subject is missing. Before filing emails, I always change the Subject which makes it easy to find. But now, I had to install a JavaScript to make the changes. The official answer is it was a mistake by the programmers.

This forum shows this issue is over a year old. When will MS ISSUE AN UPDATE?

Stacked multiple windows
-----------------------------------
In Entourage 2004, multiple open emails opened off-set just like browser windows, not on top of each other. The subject of each email was visible. For example, I could compare it with a list in my Excel sheet.

When replying to a message, now the window opens right on top it. Why not a bit offset so I can easily click on that window to scan content? Now, I first have to drag the new window to the side.

Closing multiple open emails
----------------------------------------
Option-click now closes also the main window. Why? I have to click to open it again.

Flagged messages in folders
---------------------------------------
In Entourage 2004, the folder with a flagged message also had a flag - a useful reminder. Now, I am supposed to check through my 20+ folders and search for a flagged message? Or I have to go to Calendar?

Ugly icons
--------------
Calendar, Address Book etc. are real ugly and do not match the other icons. The flags are ugly, not like in 2004.

These are all not huge issues but annoyances that affect productivity. I have never expected that the 2008 version would loose some useful features.

I want to be open-minded and have been waiting one whole day (!) to discover some neat features. Also scanned the forum and MS lectures. I believe there are improvements in synching, calendar, tasks and events and Exchange useful for corporate clients. One can insert photos. Under-the-hood improvements. But where is the beef?

1) Are there any improvements in the usefulness of the core email program?
Would appreciate any pointers and helpful hints. I would like to enjoy my new Entourage.

2) Can MS put back back the above features from Entourage 2004?
 
J

Jowec

Hey, there is a nice practical improvement:

Search
-----
The Search of emails is much better - great!

However, one more drawback in version 2008:

Cannot change the text of received emails
 
D

Diane Ross

Changing Subject line

Removal of edit subject was unintentional. According to developers- when we
changed the appearance of mail headers, the dev removed this feature. Adding
it back in after the change ended up being very risky and we decided to
focus elsewhere. Download Edit Subject script and place it in your Entourage
script menu items folder inside the Microsoft User Data folder to change
subject.

Flagged messages in folders

Custom view --> Flagged

Database is better.

Spotlight search in Entourage is huge improvement.
 

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