Back a while ago, I reviewed Claris Em@iler 1.1v3, the public beta to Claris Em@iler 2.0, and gave it a 4 1/2 MacNow Watch rating. It was easy to use, powerful, and offered advanced features. So, how does the commercial version hold up to the beta version?
Installation
Installation was almost as simple as the beta. The installer was
pretty straightforward, and simple enough for a full-blown commercial
program. It installed the program and all support files, including a
spelling checker, a nice feature that was lacking in the 1.1v3 public
beta.
Set-Up
Set-up was a bit more complex than the beta, and a bit cumbersome.
Claris Em@iler 2.0 has a set-up assistant that asks you questions and
has you enter information about your primary service provider, then
sets up that account for you. If you have multiple e-mail boxes or
Internet accounts, you can set them up later, as well. Claris Em@iler
2.0 allows you to set up accounts for a local ISP (Internet Service
Provider), AppleLink, CompuServe, Claris OfficeMail, RadioMail, and
America Online. (I use an ISP; I like the fact that it keeps my money
in my community, and I get unlimited service and tech support and
usually NO busy signals! But I digress. ;->) Since Claris Em@iler
2.0 handles so many different account types, I'll give it some leeway
on how cumbersome it was to set up.
Interface
Claris Em@iler 2.0's interface has changed a lot from Claris Em@iler
1.1v3. The mail browser screen no longer fits on a normal 15-inch
monitor screen, forcing you to scroll sideways to see all the
columns, such as Priority, Date, and so on. But aside from that, it
is a true Macintosh program, with drag & drop capabilities for
text and attachments as well as e-mail addresses.
There are three main windows: Tool Bar, Browser, and Connection Status.
Features
Claris Em@iler 2.0 features several powerful extras, such as e-mail
filtering. You set filtering up by defining actions that will be
applied to the e-mail as it is received. For example, you can
automatically file a message, or even reply to it, based on criteria
you set up. Let's say you have subscribed to
MacWay,
better known as The
EvangeList, and you want all EvangeList messages to be filed in a
folder you have created and named "Evangelist." You go to Mail
Actions, create a new mail action, then tell it to look for e-mail
with a From header that matches the EvangeList, and when it finds it
to file it in your Evangelist folder. From now on, mail from the
EvangeList will automatically be filed away, and a notice will appear
in the Browser to let you know it came in. This is quite useful if
you subscribe to several e-mail lists, as I do.
Claris Em@iler 2.0 also features a good spelling checker, and has the capability to run a mailing list of up to 250 members per e-mail address group, which is nice for small organizations or businesses that send out e-mail newsletters or product updates to customers. There is another nice feature that is a time saver: if the person you are e-mailing belongs to one of several online services, instead of typing out that service's name you just select it from a pulldown menu. For example, to send a message to Joe at CompuServe, there's no need to type out "joe@compuserve.com". Just type "joe" and select CompuServe, and it's ready to go, with no typos. You can even set up custom e-mail suffixes for your friends. If you add "@mymac2u.com" to your list, then all you have to do is type "macnowreviewer" to send an e-mail to macnowreviewer@mymac2u.com (that's me, WilliamLH ;->).
In a Nutshell
Let me start by saying, as I said in my review of Claris Em@iler
1.1v3, that I have been a Netscape Mail user for some time. Well,
that is no longer true! I have switched to Claris Em@iler 2.0, and
now only use Netscape as my web browser. I'm not saying Claris
Em@iler 2.0 is perfect, but it is very easy to use considering all
the features it includes. I'm also not saying everything about Claris
Em@iler 2.0 is simple, and some beginners and intermediate users will
need to read the set-up manual and the included online documentation
and tutorials. But for the money, you cannot get much better.
Claris Em@iler 2.0 is an extremely powerful e-mail program, yet is still simple enough for a beginner. With it's strong filters, mail actions, spell-checking and many other features, Claris Em@iler 2.0 shines as one of the best commercial e-mail programs on the market. Whether you're a beginner or a power user, I highly recommend it to one and all.
Price
System Requirements
If you use an Internet account, your provider's mail server must support the POP3 and SMTP protocols, and your connection to the mail server must be through MacTCP.
Technical Support
One free Tech Support call with included Claris Support Card, good
for up to one year after purchase. (There is no 1-800 number for
non-fee-based support, so you must pay any long distance
charges.)
Reviewers Grade: 
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Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without
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WilliamLH's reviews can be viewed at WilliamLH's
Reviews, and he is the creator of The Mac
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