Spam these days is no joke. Keeping our inboxes tidy can feel like a full-time job, and just when you think you’ve got it under control, an unexpected twist occurs: legitimate emails end up in your Junk folder. Yes, we’re talking about the moment when you realize important messages are hiding away in spam purgatory, thanks to email clients like Apple Mail, Outlook and Thunderbird.
Last week we wrote about a dual spam filter approach using email clients and how to set this up. We also talk about how spam has increased dramatically lately, and the reasons why. Here we look at how legitimate emails can end up in the Junk folder
The Frustration of Missing Emails
We’ve all been there. You’re expecting an important email, maybe a project update or a message from a friend, and it never arrives. You check your inbox—nothing. You start to wonder if they even sent it. Then, on a whim, you dive into your Junk folder, and there they are. Emails you thought were lost, marked as spam by your email client.
But it gets even more frustrating. Sometimes you have already filtered these emails specifically. You added them on your allowlist (what we used to call whitelist) in your Runbox Webmail, meaning you’ve already done the work to ensure they reach your inbox. So, why does your email client override your careful training and send them to Junk anyway?
We have recently upgraded Runbox 7 with a new message list action menu. Per popular request from our customers we have now implemented a new menu that is always shown above the message list, instead of as a popup menu shown only when messages are selected:
We have also upgraded the HTML editor in Compose and added font selections so that you can change the font face when writing messages.
And if you search for email often (like us) you will be happy to know that searches now support date ranges. Here are a few examples of date searches that you can use either directly in the basic search field or via the advanced search pane:
date:2023 All messages in 2023
date:202310 All messages in October 2023
date:20231001 All messages on October 1, 2023
date:2022..2023 All messages from 2022 to (and including) 2023
date:20231001..202311 All messages from October 1, 2023 to (and including) November 2023
For more help on email searches in Runbox 7, please see message search help.
To see all changes to Runbox 7, please go see the Changelog in the app.
With this release we are adding more advanced search features including date range searches, as well as improved HTML view controls that let you save display preferences per individual sender.
💡 To access these features, ensure that Runbox 7 is updated by reloading it in a web browser or restarting it on your phone.
More advanced search functionality
Search field controls
By clicking the wrench icon next to the search field you can now easily search only for messages that:
Have one or more attachments.
Have been replied to.
Are flagged.
Are unread.
This screenshot shows the advanced search area that provides you with extensive options for message search:
Advanced search area screenshot
Additionally you can now search by date ranges, for instance messages that were:
Received in 2023: date:2023
Received between 2020 and 2021: date:2020..2021
Received in 2021 or later: date:2021..
Improved HTML message view controls
We have also improved the HTML message view controls that allow you to save HTML and image display preferences for individual senders or for all senders.
The examples below illustrate how this functionality can be used.
HTML view options example 1
Show the text version for the current message:
HTML view options example 2
Show the HTML version with images for all messages from this sender:
Larger popular recipients list
The popular recipients list in Compose has also been improved by increasing the number of contacts from 5 to 10.
The addresses shown beneath the To field can be added to the To field by clicking on them, or dragged to the To, CC, or BCC fields.
Note that this functionality is only available when using the local search index, which is controlled by the “Synchronize index” button in the lower left corner.
Changelog since the previous release
For the more technically inclined, a list of the changes made to Runbox 7 since the previous release can be found below.
This constitutes a major upgrade to the framework and libraries that Runbox 7 is built on, which will facilitate further continuous upgrades and features.
It also includes several bug fixes and improvements, including storing display preferences on the server. This will make the user interface work more consistently across browsers, devices, and sessions and result in a more streamlined experience.
Internal changes (deps): bump ua-parser-js from 0.7.31 to 0.7.33 (75df34d)
Internal changes (deps): bump jszip from 3.7.1 to 3.10.1 (ef32ab1)
Bug fix (drafts): Ensure we only refresh drafts once per folders update (f024af2)
Bug fix (delete): Catch/Prevent more errors by ensuring defaults (5e83f89)
New feature (mailviewer): Display incoming attachment sizes (926ab4b)
Bug fix (compose): More readable attachment file size display (e44fc63)
Visual changes (security): Specify which special characters are allowed in passwords. (#1401) (c575f06)
Internal changes (deps): Update angular2-hotkeys to v13 (85aee64)
Internal changes (deps): Upgrade to angular 12 (11b3aeb)
Internal changes (deps): Update nodejs version for CI (a5cd077)
Here at Runbox we have been hard at work over the past several months making improvements to Runbox 7, our cutting edge webmail app available at https://runbox.com/app.
Our goal is to develop the fastest and most user-friendly email service available, and as we’re winding down a bit for the holidays we take the opportunity to tell you all about the many bug fixes and other improvements we have made based on feedback from you, our customers.
The most noticeable change is that we have decreased the font sizes slightly, which allows a much more efficient use of the available space in your browser:
Runbox 7 screenshot
Based on your feedback we have fixed a large number of issues that makes the Runbox 7 app more streamlined in everyday use. Through a series of Quality Milestones and a thorough review of Runbox 7 feedback along with diverse support requests we have made over 70 improvements to:
The overall performance and reliability of the app
Folder and message list displays
Compose and the Draft Desk, including attachment handling
Message view including the display of HTML and images
Settings including Identities and Account Security
After this period dedicated to improving the quality of existing functionality in Runbox 7 we are gearing up to continue implementing the Runbox 7 Roadmap in 2023, so stay tuned for new features and improvements coming your way in 2023!
