Yes, Apple's Mail App Can Have Priority Settings!

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Yes, Apple's Mail App Can Have Priority Settings!

Posted 07/03/2007 at 1:51:29pm | by Deborah Shadovitz

Here's something people often ask me about: how to set a Priority in an outgoing Mail message, so people can know you feel it's important - or not.

It's bothered me that Apple didn't provide priority-setting in Mail. Microsoft did in Outlook Express and Entourage. It's in Eudora. And in Windows, it's part of Outlook and Outlook Express. So I typically looked for it after each OS update. Well, I must have forgotten to check recently. Today I looked - and it is there! (Was also in 10.4.8.)

Priority selection is not visible by default. Like the other email Header options, you'll need to set the option - and is not located in Preferences. So, here's how:

1. Start a new message.

2. Click on the pop-up menu to the left of Account, as shown below. (That pop-up is called the Customize Header pop-up menu.) This reveals check boxes for each address option.

You'd think this option would be in Preferences, wouldn't you? You'd be wrong.

3. Click the checkbox beside the !, which is the symbol for priority.

Apple did a fine job of obfuscating this option, eh?

4. Click OK.

OK means, well, okay.

5. Quit Mail, then relaunch. Quitting lets Mail save your setting as the basis for all new messages in the future.

Note: If you change your mind and don't want Priority showing, repeat the process, simply unchecking the feature.

Once on, in each New Message window the priority is set to Normal. (You see one exclamation mark.) You can then click it and choose High Priority or even Low Priority.

So, once you send an assigned-priority message, will your recipient see that priority? Well... maybe.

In Mail, priority icons appear in the Flags column in your Mail Viewer window. However, the Flags column does not appear by default. Users need to know to go to View > Columns and choose Flags.

I believe it is common in email apps for users to have to turn on the option to view the priorities. On Mac apps, look under the View menu for something like Columns as a choice. (In Entourage it's View > Columns, then Priority.)

I understand that Apple wants to keep its applications simple to use, but I don't agree that this should be done by denying features we've come to expect. Having been a Emailer/OE/Entourage user, my list of "needs" for Mail is quite long. I'm always happy to be able to check one off and be able to tell fellow Mac users, "we have that!" So, if you haven't yet discovered that Mail has priority settings, enjoy. (If you already know, well, maybe one day I'll discover something else that wows you.)

COMMENTS: 12

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COMMENTS

priority
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2007-07-03 20:13

In more than 10 years of using e-mail, including at least 3 years of active use of Apple mail client, I personally never had a need to assign a "priority" to a message. At my work all the important e-mails are sent/received without any priority settings, and the only messages that come with the "high priority" tag are mass-mail junk announcements.

I believe that Apple has done it right not to have bloated the Mail's interface with largely gratuitous functions. Those who desperately need it will find it and those who do not know about this setting do not need to learn about it because it does not really add to the real importance of your message.

And to the editor, do people actually ask you about this or it is just one of those first lines a la "once upon a time"? It seems to me that people should be able to find the answer to their question by simply typing "priority" in Mail's help without asking somebody else about it....

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Agreed
Submitted by James (not verified) on Wed, 2007-07-04 11:11

I don't think many people use prioritization with email these days; Apple was right to leave it as an optional feature for those who feel it's necessary. I like Mail because it ISN'T bloated Eudora, or Outlook, etc. Just my opinion.

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Regardless of whether the
Submitted by Cameron (not verified) on Wed, 2007-07-04 20:57

Regardless of whether the "priority" settings are on or off by default (or out of the box, or whatever you want to call it), Apple should at least make it simple for users to change the settings... by adding these to the Preferences options. "User friendly" and "consistent user interface" are supposed to mean what they say.

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I've been using the priority
Submitted by Sarge (not verified) on Fri, 2007-07-06 12:26

I've been using the priority for so long I don't remember configuring Mail to make it available. (Although I'm sure I must have.) It seems like it's been there since before 10.4.8.

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Priority settings
Submitted by MacDesigner (not verified) on Sun, 2007-07-08 15:48

Prioities are also under Message>Mark with Low, Normal and High.

I find many features are buried in menu choices that many people never even look for. I'd call these people lazy, but I don't honestly think this is a reason. I know people that have worked in programs for 10+ years and always use the mouse and menus for choices, while I try and learn as many shortcuts as I can. Also, I've never used the prioritize options in any of my emails.

As far as where choices such as these should be, since the Show BBC and Reply-To Address fields are under the View menu, Priority should be there too. None of these are under Preferences nor should they be there. There are some things that would make more sense with where you can access these choices, however you can be sure that no matter where they are located someone will not like it.

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Thank you, very helpfull!
Submitted by Edwin (not verified) on Sat, 2008-03-22 04:19

Thank you, very helpfull!

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