Mail.appetizer is an add-on to Apple's Mail application that has just one purpose - to pop open a preview of any incoming mail in a preview window, which floats above everything else. It's also one of the most useful utilities we know of.
Rather than just hearing a sound to indicate that you have a new message, or seeing an icon bounce in the dock, this application shows you the first dozen or so lines of any incoming emails. Four buttons appear at the bottom of the window, allowing you to dismiss the window entirely, delete the message, mark it as read, or switch to it in Mail. There's also a counter that shows how many messages you have waiting to be examined - clicking anywhere within the window will go to the next message.
What makes Mail.appetizer work so well is its customisability. You can set the opacity of the window at a level that makes it readable, but not intrusive. The window can also be set to auto-dismiss after two or more seconds, so you can just glance at it and then ignore the incoming mail if it's not urgent, allowing you to continue your work without interruption.
You can choose how much information is displayed in headers, how many quotation levels are listed, the preview font and size, and which mailboxes are shown in the preview window. All this is controlled by a preference pane within Mail itself.
Mail.appetizer has been around for a while, but this is the first version of it to run under Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5). It's a utility that many have missed since upgrading from Tiger, and it's a real treat to have it again. Best of all, it's absolutely free. Try it and you won't be able to live without it.
Verdict
Needs Mac OS X 10.5 (versions available for earlier systems)
Author: Steve Caplin
MacUser Online