Another reason Google is the leader
23 Jun
Gmail noticed I forgot my attachment.
Gmail is the best e-mail client I've ever used, whether as web-based or desktop software (sorry Pine). Recently I saw another reason why Gmail—and this is true of all Google's products—is the best: attention to the smallest aspects of user experience (UX) design.
Case in point: e-mail attachments. I wrote and almost sent the message shown here, but Gmail was kind enough to remind me that I'd neglected to attach the document. "Duh," I said to myself, "I hate it when I do that." But with this feature of Gmail, no one needs to know I forgot the attachment (except that I chose to blog about it anyway). I also appreciate the deferential wording of the reminder message: "It seems you might have forgotten..." How generous when they could have written "Hey, clown-face, you didn't attach the file you said you were gonna!"
Technically, I imagine this feat is achieved by parsing the body of your message as part of the pre-send check (the same one that looks for valid e-mail addresses, presence of a subject line, etc.). If "I'm attaching," "is attached," or other phrases occur in the message but no actual attachment is present, this warning is displayed. Gmail already knows the content of the message; that's how their AdWords platform knows which ads to display. Adding this check is an excellent UX improvement that builds on that same platform.
If you're a Gmail user and have forgotten attachments without landing in this safety net, let me clue you in: Gmail Labs. If you're logged in, this link should take you to a repository of Gmail goodies that are not quite ready for prime time. Users can enable certain tools to enhance their Gmail experience. Presumably, the popular ones will be polished up and introduced into everyone's Gmail. (For example, Gmail themes is a graduate of Gmail Labs.)
My other favorites:
- Pictures in chat - little avatars appear next to your conversation mates.
- Inbox preview - shows you a simplified version of your top messages as Gmail is loading. That's cool. No new messages? You can abort and close the window before all the Javascript goodness has to load up; it's great for slow connections.
- Title Tweeks - rearranges the browser's title bar for Gmail so the inbox and number of messages appear first. Who cares, you ask? Well, with multiple tabbed browsers having that info come first lets you know if you've got new mail without switching to that tab.
There are dozens more UX enhancements, so if you're a Gmail user (and you should be!) go to your settings page and look for the "labs" tab and choose your favorites. And say goodbye to "oops, I forgot to attach this..." follow-up messages.
Related posts:
- Why no flags, OWA? First off: OWA is Outlook Web Access, the web-based version...
- More than one way to skin an e-mail account Today, I logged into my Gmail account. “That’s strange,” I...
- Signal-to-noise ratios in e-mail signatures Eight percent. How’s that for a ratio of useful content...
I like Gmail, but those smug bastards should get off thier high horse and implement sort functionality. And I don’t need a clever work around to trick Gmail into sorting.
Very impressive. I had to check it out for myself as I wanted to test statements like “your girlfriend is attached to your hip.” Those didn’t work, nor did all the ones you’d expect — I even tried typing in the same statement you did. I wonder if it is actually the subject line that kicks it off?
@Dustin — Did you enable the Forgotten Attachment goodie in your Gmail settings first? The link to do so is here: http://mail.google.com/mail/#settings/labs
That’s required before it’ll notice your possible forgotten attachment.