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Mailbag Assistant by Keith Russell

Mailbag Assistant is a fascinating product from Fookes Software, the creator and publisher of another terrific product, NoteTab (which I'm using to write this review). Unlike a lot of other software, MBA doesn't have a lot of competition; it's the only product of its kind that I'm aware of.

Mailbag Assistant isn't for everyone; it's very much a niche product. However, for power e-mail users, or those who insist on using and trying out a variety of incompatible e-mail clients, it can be indispensable. It gives you a relatively straightforward way to organize voluminous amounts of email, and to archive it (in compressed format, if you prefer) to a local hard drive or to a network or removable drive. If you prefer, you can use Mailbag assistant to organize or search your existing files, without importing and still leaving everyting intact in your client's native database.

The program handles Outlook Express, Eudora, Netscape Messenger, Pegasus, The Bat!, Forte Agent, Calypso, Poco, Foxmail, and EML message files. (Calypso and FoxMail messages must be exported as text files first.) This list surely must cover a large majority of e-mail users. The only significant omission I see is Outlook. One thing I really like is the fact that it can handle native e-mail files (even automatically find them in some cases) even if the application that created them is no longer on your system! Not only do you have various choices of import file format, but you can export messages in text, HTML, EML, or other formats, using customizable templates.

MBA provides very powerful searching and filtering capabilities, using complex Boolean expressions. It even allows "approximate" and Soundex (pronunciation) matches, which are quite unusual in e-mail software. In addition to manipulating the messages themselves, you can extract addresses and attachments. You can also compile traffic and word statistics. What makes Mailbag Assistant, like NoteTab, so powerful, however, is the ability it gives you to automate repetitive operations. It comes with a powerful scripting language for this purpose.

Despite its power, MBA is user friendly. If you are a beginner, or you just prefer not to spend a lot of time learning the system, you can use built-in wizards for much of your work. In fact, the first time you run a program, a wizard starts up and steps you through selecting and manipulating one of your existing e-mail files. It prompts you for the type and location of your file or files, gives you the option of opening all mailboxes or just the one(s) you choose, and then to enter criteria for finding only specified messages. You can then choose, if you desire, to group the messages in a certain way, create an archive, or export messages.

If you prefer not to experiment with your own data at first, you can use a sample file that is provided for you. You are also given the option of saving your settings, and of using the wizard each time the program starts, if you so prefer.

Also enhancing the program's usability are colored quoting and syntax highlighting.

The program's main interface displays four tabs: Grid View-Main, Grid View-Subset, Message Header, and Message Body. The first lists all messages at the top of the window; at the bottom is a preview pane which displays a selected message with the most important headers in human-readable format. A variety of fields are displayed, and you can sort on any one by clicking on the column header. The second displays the results of any search than you have executed. The third and fourth give you full windows to view full Usenet headers and the message body (sans headers), respectively.

Program options are simple but helpful. For example, you can choose the quote symbol or remove duplicates during a sort. By default, MBA's settings are stored in an ini file: a feature that will appeal to many. If you prefer, though, you can choose to store them in the registry.

Some features may not work for all clients. For example, I am a registered user of The Bat!, which incorporates a feature that enables one to include a poster's initials before the quote symbol. Mailbag Assistant does not (yet, anyway) quote such quotes properly. There have also been some problems reported involving imports and exports of The Bat's messages.

However, one of Fookes Software's most important features is the quality of its support. There is a very active mailing list available for MBA users, with active participation from Jody in Support, and fairly frequent visits from Eric Fookes himself. Fookes is very responsive, has been involved in discussing the few problems mentioned above, and is always willing to consider requests for future upgrades.

Mailbag Assistant has proven to be very stable on both my systems (Windows 2000 and XP). It sells for $30 US. Download the free 30-day trial and give it a try!

--Keith Russell