When I read that Equinux was introducing Mail Designer, an application that works with Apple’s Mail application and allows the user to send out designer emails, I was immediately interested. So interested that I asked for the opportunity to review it. I was not disappointed.
I send out at least a dozen e-mail messages a month to members of our local Macintosh Users Group. It may be a reminder of a meeting, a notice of a member discount, information about an upcoming special event, or a number of other things depending on the time of year. They all have one thing in common. They all look alike and they tend to be boring because of it.
I’ve tried two or three options for colorful e-mail messages that would open quickly and were easy and fast to use. I have been disappointed in everything I have tried. However, Mail Designer seems to meet my needs on all levels.
More to the point, it is versatile enough to meet the needs of users ranging from individuals to business situations.
Using the software
The basic Mail Designer application, which sells for US$69.95 offers a library of predesigned templates. There are designs for announcements, birthday, photos, sentiments, and stationery. Within these templates the user can change text, text color, background color, icons and even add URLs. As an example here is a copy of a sticky note from the stationery template section. I have chosen it simply because it is small and easy to use for demonstration.
Example of editing options
To make changes I click inside the content area and make all the changes noted in this example, including using any far fetched font I want to use. I click save and then choose “send as e-mail” from the File menu. The e-mail is created and I can send it. It will look the same on PCs as well as Macs.