The Bat - how to customize?

[dantheman]

I took a look at the Bats' forum today and tried to post a new thread but couldn't find the post new thread button (surfing in Firefox).  So here we are!

How does someone make the menu icons smaller?  Right-clicking on the menu gives you the Customize option which then offers you an infinite list and i can't see this option anywhere!     

[mouser]

i remember you can do it, but i can't remember how.. there is a newsgroup for thebat, i'll check it in a bit.
may i make a recommendation though.

i also tend to always look for small icons.  however, after using the bat for a couple of years, i've concluded that because you are going to be pushing these constantly, it really does help to have big buttons.  you might want to try it for a couple weeks and see if you don't get used to it.. that's my recommendation.

[mouser]

http://thebat.zetema...minimal_history.html


from forum post (you'll find the download mentioned below is available on above page)

>> just as I wrote a few days ago. download
>> http://www.trybik.je....okey.pl/tb3skin.zip, extract it in your bat
>> folder and edit batskin.ini. You have to guess the settings, since
>> the official docs haven't been published.

B> Did anyone figure out how to do this yet? I hate the new large icons!
B> Thanks!

 The following worked for me, but YMMV.

Try the following changes. This changes them down to 24x24.

; Buttons=GlyphList32x32
Buttons=GlyphList24x24

; BigIcons=GlyphList32x32
BigIcons=GlyphList24x24

; [GlyphList32x32]
[GlyphList24x24]
; fixup=32,32,0,0
fixup=32,32,5,4

[dantheman]

The Bat Support Team just responded to a ticket i sent in just about the same time i posted here (Dec. 22 to Jan 10 - not a bad response time!):



Subject: Small toolbar icons

From: [4000] (apr) Alexander Petrari [helpdesk staff]


>>======================== MESSAGE ====================================


Attached files:
http://www.ritlabs.c...download&lang=en


>>-------------- quote -----------------


(i posted this just for the record - not planning on using or testing The Bat anymore - Although i may use Outlook and Barca...  even online!  Thunderbird is just fine for my software needs).

[superboyac]

For those of you familiar with the Bat...

Is there somewhere to customize how long you have to be on a message before its status changes from unread to read?  Usually, email programs have a way to change how long you actually have to read a message before it becomes read.  I want to shorten the time it takes to almost 0, but I can't find the option for it anywhere.

[mouser]

absolutely there is - in fact the first thing i do with each new account is set that to 0!
it's in the account properties:

[superboyac]

Ah!  Thanks, mouser, we think alike yet again. (I still can't believe that you like realplayer  )

[dantheman]

I can't understand why The Bat has partnered with Lycos?  They don't even offer IMAP!

[superboyac]

absolutely there is - in fact the first thing i do with each new account is set that to 0!
it's in the account properties:

-mouser (January 23, 2006, 01:29 AM)

Mouser, I set the time to 0, but it kind of still doesn't work.  Let me explain.  I don't have message preview pane on, when I want to read a message, i double click on it and open it in a separate window.  When I do that, that first message immediately gets marked as read and filters to it's appropriate place (because I have filter set for "read messages".  But then, as I click through the next messages with the arrow, none of the other messages get marked as read.  In fact, they don't even follow the order I have in the listed folder.  Let me explain a little more, I think that may be the problem...

Like I said, all of my new mail comes into the inbox.  I have a virtual folder that includes all mail recieved today, from all mailboxes.  When I click on the first unread message in the virtual folder, it gets marked as unread, and when that happens it automatically gets filtered away as I explained.  But then, when I click....Oh!  I found the problem.  My list is sorted by created time, and the most recent time is on the bottom.  I do this so that I can read the messages in the order created as I go from top to bottom (like we read normally).  I just found out that if I click on "Follow Previous" it goes down the list, and "Follow Next" goes up the list, which seems contrary to what it should be.  Shouldn't Follow Next go down the list to the more recent email?  Can I change that setting so it makes more sense to me?

[superboyac]

One more question...in the Bat, there are a lot of settings and what not, but barely any of them are explained in the help dialog.  Is there a manual or some kind of comprehensive set of settings available anywhere?

[superboyac]

OK, more questions...
1) What's the difference between the "sent mail" box and the Outbox?
2) I still can't seem to control the follow next/previous buttons...they seem to always work in the same direction no matter how the mailbox is sorted.

[superboyac]

Hi, it's me again.  I just bought the Bat with our discount here (thanks donationcoder!), and I have migrated all my years of email into it and am trying to figure everything out.  I have a lot of questions that I am having a hard time getting answered, I was wondering if users here could help me figure it out.

I went to the Bat website and postd some questions, but no one answered.  I also wen to their Support link and this weird form opens up with a Ticket ID, and I don't know what it's for.  I also browsed through the help file that comes with the program, and I find that it barely explains any of the Bat's features and how to use them, given that there are so many features in the program.  Am I missing something here?  Is there some secret user manual to this program somewhere or what?

I also clicked on the "information request" link under help in the program, which sends an email to the Bat people, and in it I asked for a user manual or something, but I don't even know if that is what that link is for.  Something is odd here, I feel like information is being kept from me for some reason...

I'm really not understanding how to just read messages in the order that I have sorted without using a preview pane (just a personal preference of mine, I like the separate window).

[mouser]

sent mail and outbox is very useful distinction:
inthebat after you write a message you can either send it immediately or be smarted and just QUEUE IT in the out box.
this can be useful as it gives you a little time to catch yourself before you make a stupid mistake.
then when yousay send and mail is sent it moves from outbox to sent.

see my previous message also about how i create new folders in my accounts for different purposes.

there is a newsgroup+online archive at ritlabs somewhere that you can search - that may be the best way to search for answers to questions.

i always use preview pane so im not sure about other modes of reading - make sure you check out the different ways to arrange the different panes in the window - it may be that once you find a good layout of panes youll like using preview window better.

[superboyac]

Thanks mouser so much.
The outbox explanation makes sense now.  I think I'll queue, that's how I always did it before.
I've already checked out the different pane arrangements, that's one of the first things I tried in the Bat.  I used Pegasus before, and you have total control on how you want the desktop to look, you can put anything anywhere without any kind of restrictions.  Personally, I don't like the whole default 3-pane preview thing that seems to be standard for email.  In the Bat, I've settled on the "Full-Height Account Tree" arrangement so I can  see all my accounts easily.  I also have message preview turned off so the left side is just a long list of everything in that box, which I like.  However, I still haven't figured out how to navigate up and down the list according to how I've sorted it.  Like I said, the follow next/previous buttons don't go by the sorting method in the box, but strictly by the message date.

I don't like the preview pane because it shortens the list for the mailbox AND it shortens the window for the message.  I like my message window to be about 60-80% of my screen so I do as little scrolling as possible.  I know it's out of the norm, but that's my preference.  My mailboxes are quite large also, so I want to see as many of my messages as possible, not just 10-20 of them.

I checked out Ritlab's online knowledge base, and it seemed like someone asked a question pretty similar to my list navigation issue, but he didn't get a clear response in my opinion.  It was one of those, "Why in the world do you do it like that?" responses instead of saying it can't be done or here's how you do it.  I think the answer is it can't be done.

[mouser]

i also like the full height left account list.
i then have a 1/3 height message list on top right, and preview window below.