New Plusnet Webmail platform goes live

[#1]

Those of you familiar with our Webmail platform may have noticed this morning that it's had a bit of a facelift. We've been running an open trial of the new service since late last year and have been really happy with the results so today we've decided to remove the 'beta' label and make the service the default Webmail offering. The old Webmail platform will run in parallel with the new service for a few months but will eventually be decommissioned. Until then, you can access it by clicking the 'basic webmail' button on the login page or by browsing to webmail.plus.net/squirrelmail When you first log into the new Webmail platform, any address book entries from the old platform should be automatically carried across. We've seen a few examples today where this hasn't (or has only partially) happened though so if you find yourself in this position then please refer to the information I've posted over on our discussion forums. If you've not yet had chance to familiarise yourself with the new Webmail platform then have a read of my post from December last year that showcases some of the basics. Feel free to let us know what you think by leaving a comment below ...

[#2]

Oh - and to move emails, you drag and drop same as every "fat" email client I've ever had allows you to.

[#3]

I really like the new webmail page. It is clean and fresh. I would like to make an observation and sorry if this has been noted before. You used to be able to click a point at the top of the list of e-mails to select 'all' and then delete or other action. This seems to have disappeared. Could it be put back in please. thanks (I may spot other things as I use it more)

[#4]

@davidwd, the spell checker relies on pspell I believe so it's accuracy is out side of our control - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pspell Having said that, we could use a different spell checking engine I guess. @lunchbag @Stéph @tsaddon, thanks for the positive feedback. @LEvans, that's a bit of an odd one. There's no database entry in the old system for the 'other info' information (well not in a logical place anyway). See the comment I post up there ^^^ on April 12th, 2012 at 11:43 am. @Claire, left click the first email in the list, scroll to the bottom of the list, hold down the 'Shift' key on your keyboard and then left-click the last email in the list. This should highlight all of the messages. All you then need to do is hit the 'Delete' key on your keyboard. Or select 'Delete message' from the right-click context menu.

[#5]

soooooo glad to get rid of that old webmail interface - it was absolutely impossible to use - well done guys!

[#6]

Bob - the field I meant is called 'Additional Info' in the old version, not 'Other Info'. In any case I've copy/pasted everything across from the basic email into the new version so problem solved. cheers Lee

[#7]

Still very happy with new webmail but need help.Firstly how do you get an address from address book into the 'to' box when forwarding an e mail( other than cutting and pasteing) and secondly how can addresses from different pages in address book be selected into the 'to' box.

[#8]

Hi Michael, does this help? - http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,104497.0.html

[#9]

I'm also regularly seeing the problem with the preview pane being out of sync with the messages. Have Plusnet replicated this problem? Is there going to be a fix? Thanks.

[#10]

I noticed the change about a month ago. Ever since I've just used basic webmail as the new format is far too complicated. I want to just log on check my e-mails, reply etc not have to mess about. If the basic e-mail is going then I'll be following not much later. I'm past my first year's contract so what is the termination notice required? Shame I liked Plusnet but I can't stand this new format.

[#11]

Hi Mike, no we've not had much luck replicating the problem. I did find this old/closed bug report from years back mind you - http://trac.roundcube.net/ticket/1484929 What web browser, version and operating system are you using and are you doing anything in particular when/before it happens?

[#12]

@Lee, are you having any problems with your broadband service? Seems a bit extreme to leave based on the fact that we're making some aesthetic changes to our Webmail platform! Have you ever considered setting your email up using a local client like Outlook, Windows Mail or Thunderbird? I'd urge you to allow time to get used to the new platform as I for one certainly find it quicker and more capable than the standard offering once you're used to things. We require ten days notice should you choose to cancel your account. You'd need to speak to our Cancellations Department - the number's on our website.

[#13]

I'm also amazed by the negative reactions here. I don't see how the new version could be any simpler. What on earth is complicated? An inbox & the usual folders, a pencil icon to write something, a back arrow to reply, a forward arrow to forward. How more simplistic does it need to be. As for selecting all items, use the SELECT icons at the bottom of the inbox if you want to select everything. Are you people still using Windows 3.1 for fear of change.

[#14]

why o why do you have to keep messing with the site which has worked perfectly well i can see no reason other than somebody "thinks it will be a good idea to make life difficult for CUSTOMERS"

[#15]

noted your comment that you have to check but how can i log in when the system is down?

[#16]

I like it. Much better than the previous incarnation which looked like it was from the Tudor times when compared with every other webmail site I used.

[#17]

@paulID, the software uses IMAP so indexing shouldn't really present much of a problem. It may be due to a browser/server caching setting somewhere however I've not had much luck replicating it. You could always disable the message preview? After all, it wasn't available when using the old platform. If you've any idea how I can replicate the issue then I'll happily look into it. I've been using Roundcube with another provider for over a year now and I've never noticed this happening. I've also had a look for reports of similar problems from other Roundcube users but haven't been able to find anything - http://trac.roundcube.net/ Bob Still happening, it appears random though. Im using Firefox 12.0 browser

[#18]

@albert johnson, keep messing with the site? Our Webmail platform's been the same for years. As mentioned in my replies to other comments on here, SquirrelMail was only ever intended as a temporary solution. You can't win to be honest, people were unhappy when we brought SquirrelMail into service and now it seems that some are unhappy we're replacing it. You can't please everybody. Checking the logs, more people are using Webmail now than ever before so we must have done something right? @paulD, I'm using Firefox 12 too, it's going to prove tricky to pinpoint though without some means of reliably replicating the issue

[#19]

I think the new email is better. I have to say I have recently switched to using gmail as my email client (you can now set gmail up so that it sends and receives from plusnet domain address not a gmail address). This means I have the benefits of webmail email (ie sent folders, inbox etc all the same wherever I log on without syncing) and I can also use the gmail app on my phone. Having all my contacts in one place and available from any computer and my phone as google contacts is a godsend and my android phone automatically syncs my google contacts with linkedin, facebook etc too. Just putting forwward an alternative idea if people can't get used to the new webmail and want to stick with webmail rather than using an email client like outlook, thunderbird etc

[#20]

1.The attachment limit is way too small, a significant step backwards from Squirrel and something that will severly limit my usage. 2.My Nordnet service use the same interface as this,except that they show selection boxes to the left of each email so that you can choose multiple non-adjacent messages for an action e.g. deletion,moving to a folder etc, rather than having to go message by message. Why isn't it included?

[#21]

Richard, the attachment limit is the same as it was with SquirrelMail (7Mb per file). You can still select multiple non-adjacent messages by holding the control key on your keyboard and left-clicking.

[#22]

I seem to have 'forward messages' & 'reset search' covering some of the icons at the top. Are my settings wrong.

[#23]

I continue to use the email service supplied by my old ISP. Plusnet's offering far too complicated to set up and use.

[#24]

@Graham, not familiar with that one. Is it still happening? It righted itself for a while but now I am again being asked to enter my password twice, before login procedure is accepted?

[#25]

@marilyn, it's probably the size of your browser window or your screen resolution. If either is set too small/low then the buttons can overlap. @Graham, what web browser are you using? Are you accessing the service from home? And do you use any plugins or security software that could be intervening?

[#26]

I too gave up on the new version weeks ago, continuing to use the older version, but only as backup for my main mail accounts with Tesco, which POP3's into my Apple Mail programme, which has served me well for many years. Both of which are very nice graphically presented. Tesco sometimes is not available, and depending on the reason why, emails are still forwarded to PlusNet mail, as I set it up. I also have an Orange mail account for the same reason. I have tried & given up getting to grips with the non intuitive Plusnet mail, IMHO. I do hope the older version continues to be available, other wise I will just junk trying with PlusNet mail. And I am a computer user of many years experience !!! And the "overlap and extra icons" problem I raised quite a while ago has still not been corrected. First mentioned by myself April 11th !!

[#27]

> And the "overlap and extra icons" problem I raised quite a while ago has still not been corrected. There hasn't been a commitment from anybody to correct it unless I've overlooked it? We might be able to create a custom template but the bug (if you want to call it that) is inherent in the software we're using rather than something we've created ourselves. I have access to a non-Plusnet version of Roundcube and the same 'problem' exists. It's simply designed for higher resolution displays. Roundcube have pretty significant visual changes planned for future releases so it will be interesting to see how that pans out. I've said before that not everybody is going to like it but Webmail usage seems to be on the up since we moved to the new platform. Based on the figures, we must be doing something right? It's unlikely the old platform will be retained in the long term.

[#28]

I run 1920 x 1080 display, you don't get much higher than that ! And it's not a non display of other icons, they are a partial repeat of the top icons immediately above, shifted one icon to the left.!

[#29]

@PlusComUK, sorry I overlooked that. You're still using Camino yes? Don't suppose you can link me to a screengrab of this munged menu placement? I've checked the link you provided before and it seems to link to an unrelated forum thread containing dead imageshack links?

[#30]

Here is the link... http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/801/screenshot20120607at152.jpg/ or http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/5341/screenshot20120607at152.jpg

[#31]

A better grab here ... http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/827/screenshot20120607at152.jpg/ or http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/5341/screenshot20120607at152.jpg Don't know what happened B4 !

[#32]

Using Safari, I get exactly the same display Normal http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/707/screenshot20120607at153.jpg/ http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/1106/screenshot20120607at153.jpg Zoomed out to be really small, max zoom out http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/811/screenshot20120607at153.jpg/ http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/1106/screenshot20120607at153.jpg Zoomed in to be really large, nearly fills whole screen to lose the repeated icons http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/818/screenshot20120607at153.jpg/ http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/1106/screenshot20120607at153.jpg

[#33]

Thanks. I'm still struggling to work out what's going on though? Webmail renders perfectly fine for me using both Safari and Camino under OSX Snow Leopard: http://community.plus.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/camino.png http://community.plus.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/safari.png I even upped the resolution to 1920x to no avail. Using Camino 2.1.2 and Safari 10.1.7.

[#34]

I presume you mean Safari 5.1.7 We are both using the same versions of Camino & Safari. I am using OSX 10.7.4 I have another iMac on 10.6.8 in a cupboard, I'll try that soon. Did you try zooming in & out ? ⌘+ ⌘-

[#35]

Yes, sorry I meant 5.1.7. I didn't try zooming in/out though because I was under the impression you still had the problem when viewing with the default zoom view?

[#36]

" Did you try zooming in & out ? ⌘+ ⌘- " The top right icons etc are on multiple layers. In Camino. the icons stay the same size, but the search etc display moves across the others as you zoom in. As you zoom out, the icons again stay exactly the same, a sort of cut off top half repeat and shifted across by one icon. In Safari, all the multiple layers move, as you zoom in, the repeated icons disappear under the search display. As you zoom out, the lower row of icons become more visible, apparently lifting up, as the search etc display moves right. If you try it, you'll see what I mean.

[#37]

Used my 10.6.8 iMac, exactly the same in both Camino & Safari as above.

[#38]

That's odd because I've just tried zooming in and out and I'm unable to replicate the problem you describe in either Safari or Camino. There must be something non-standard about your configuration? When I zoom in then the icons on the left overlap with the filter and search bar on the right (this happens across all browsers/operating systems), but there's no duplicate layering like in the screen grabs you linked to.

[#39]

OK, let's not bother with this anymore. I have other, preferred email clients I use anyway. Thanks.....

[#40]

Bob Following on from your comment in an answer from one of my earlier posts, will it be possible to raise the Metronet 50Mb limit raised? I see there is a calendar facility that comes with the webmail, does this sync with the likes of Google calendar / Outlook (full version) etc? David Dixon

[#41]

Hi David, The calendar doesn't feature synchronisation with external applications I'm afraid. I've asked our Ops team to look at increasing the global quota for Metronet mailboxes (ref: 125189) however it's a very low priority piece of work so I can't offer a guarantee as to when they'll find the time to do it.

[#42]

I have NEVER struggled so much with an email system as this plusnet crap. It is impossible to get redirect to work. It is all over the place, in my opinion, and blooming hopeless. What a joke.

[#43]

Redirects aren't set up via the Webmail platform philip. They're set up via the Manage My Mail controls in the Member Centre - http://email.plus.net Also worth noting is the fact that you can't redirect an existing Mailbox. You'd have to delete the mailbox first (thus losing any email in it) and then set up the redirect.

[#44]

21.06.12 Impossible to do anything after login attempt... DATABASE ERROR: CONNECTION FAILED! Unable to connect to the database! Please contact your server-administrator. Very worried, need to get on with business!!!

[#45]

Sorry about that Graham. Have you seen the Service Status announcements? - http://usertools.plus.net/status/status.xml

[#46]

Its crap. Thats when I can get on webmail. The last 48 hours have been a nightmare as I keep getting an invalid or timed out message when trying to collect my emails. 'Good honest broadband' -- Don't make me laugh ! Will contact Talk Talk tonite. The sooner I leave this shower, the better.

[#47]

Everything is back, but running slow. At least Plusnet keep everyone informed of the prevalent situation, unlike Talk Talk. Best of luck to hitcox193 when he contacts them 'tonite' or should it be tonight?

[#48]

22/06/ Back to normal speed, all present and correct. Thanks Bob

[#49]

I've used the 'advanced webmail' ever since it came out in Beta. Better than MS Rem0te Access! Never had any trouble with it at all, except I don't like the 'pinky/mauvy' colour schemes!! Far better than the old one I had with V@H. (iMac Snow Leopard 10.6.8 3.1GHz Intel Core i15, 4GB RAM 1333Mhz I honestly don't know what you are all moaning about... Remember it is only a 'webmail package, and is not really meant be your 'main e-mail'! RH