Deferred Email: Get Those Messages Out of My Sight, I’ll Look at Them Later!

March 31st, 2010

LuxSci has just introduced a new featured called “Deferred Email Messages”.  With deferred messages, you can select message(s), in any email folder, have them removed from that folder and automatically returned to the folder at a later date and time.

If, like me, you use your INBOX as a “to do list”, this is a big help.  You no longer have to keep old messages hanging around for a long time until you “deal with them”.  Now, you can defer them, specifying exactly when you would like to see them again.  They are moved away and automatically returned at that time.  This keeps your INBOX (and other active folders manageable).

Additionally:

  • You can always review what messages are currently deferred — they are stored in your “Deferred” folder and can be accessed at any time.   You can even view and modify their deferral settings as needed.
  • When the message(s) are returned to their original folders, you can optionally have them marked unread, flagged as important, and/or tagged with a custom tag.
  • You can manually move the messages back from your Deferred folder any time, and can interact with them as they are stored there, just like you can with any other email message.  I.e. reply, delete, forward, annotate, etc.
  • If you start deferring messages frequently, you can add a “Defer” button to your WebMail tool bar.
  • While you can only defer messages from within WebMail, you can interact with deferred messages and the messages that return to your folders via IMAP as well.
  • Message deferral supports shared folders — you can defer messages in shared folders and have them placed in that user’s shared Deferred folder (as long as you have been granted permission to do this).