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Submission details

16 +21/-5 votes

Launch applications in Windows Live Mail separately

Submitted by burnblue on March 7, 2009 to Annoyance, Usability

In the Essentials suite, Mail, Calendar Contacts, Newsgroups and RSS are all combined into one app, Windows Live Mail. This means that if I want to look someone up in my Contacts list, or just check out my Calendar, when I launch the program WLM pauses on the Mail tab (the default entry point) trying to download messages and sync folders and such -- really slowing the user down.

Most people don't use all of the separate sections of the program.. for example I use Contacts heavily and I also use Calendar but I do not want the app to handle Mail and I never touch RSS and Newsgroups. I do not see any UI dependencies that necessitate all 5 things being in one program (Contacts even launches in a separate window anyway when you click its tab!).

1) Offer Mail, Calendar Contacts, Newsgroups and RSS as five separate and individual installable applications, or

2) give us a choice to launch each with independent shortcuts: for example, I type Calendar into the Start Menu, click "Windows Live Calendar", and have the Calendar tab open right away when the program launches.

Medium

High

Not fixed

Discussion (5 comments)

.Chris wrote on March 8, 2009, 2:45am

I like the way it is now, but I want contacts to be integrated for more constancy. Something Microsoft sometimes fails at

burnblue wrote on March 10, 2009, 2:44am

To Chris who like the way it is now: Nothing would change for you, you click the Mail shortcut in your start menu or taskbar or wherever, and the Mail Tab opens. I just want for when I click a Calendar shortcut the Calendar tab to open.

.Chris wrote on March 10, 2009, 3:01am

huh? You were saying you want everything in sepreate windows, not tabs

burnblue wrote on March 12, 2009, 4:59pm

I provided two options.

Turbo wrote on May 11, 2009, 2:31pm

I like option 2: Separate shortcuts open the same application in a different tabs/modes.

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