outlook365failures

[outlook365failures]

Outlook uses a `div` tag with “role=textbox” set, rather than using a `textarea` tag.

When you use an actual `textarea` tag, it allows the user to resize the textbox if it’s too small for the data you’re entering (in this case, for e-mail signatures, 400px is inadequate and causes the text to wrap). `div` tags are meant for page divisions and containing content. There is literally a tag (`textarea`) that already exists to accept block-level text-input; it requires no additional JavaScript or DOM changes. 

Yet again, this is Microsoft ignoring best practices in lieu of doing things their own way.

[outlook365failures]

When you change a calendar series, it applies the change retroactively

I have a recurring calendar event that I want to change, going forward. I can edit the series, no problem. 

But when I commit the change, it applies it RETROACTIVELY. This is incorrect, as the timing of the past events has not changed (and so, if a year from now I want to see “when did this meeting happen?” I would have incorrect information -- yes this has happened before). 

EXPECTED UX: When I change a calendar series, it either only changes that event + future events, or it prompts me to apply it retroactively as well. 

ACTUAL BAD UX: Calendar series changes apply retroactively to all previous occurrences. 

[outlook365failures]

There is no way to run your Inbox rules manually

I just created a new inbox rule that applies to a few hundred messages in my inbox. I want to run that rule once, to clear out the inbox.

This is not presently possible.

https://webapps.stackexchange.com/a/74121

Inbox rules are only run when the message first arrives, and it’s not possible to run them manually.

You might expect the “Sweep” button to do this, since that’s kind of the affordance that “Sweeping” implies. 

Nope.

“Sweep” only allows a preset list of 4 options that are all date-related.

EXPECTED UX: If I create a rule, I should be able to run that rule individually, or at least run the full battery of rules, either on-demand or at the least queue them somehow up to be run on existing messages in my inbox.

ACTUAL UX: There is no way to run a new or existing rule intentionally.

[outlook365failures]

Unformatting a bulleted list is a nightmare

I had a bulleted list in an e-mail and wanted to remove the bullets so that I could use them as headers for a response in a message. 

All I wanted to do was remove the bullets. In other editors, you might click the “outdent” (to back out the indentation from bulleting, which results in removal of the bulleted list). Nope.

Indenting, then outdenting, just makes that one item a separate list.

Clicking the “bulleted list” (currently highlighted) does not remove the list, it initially creates a sub-list with the current item, and clicking it again removes the bulleted list entirely FOR THAT ITEM ONLY.

Highlighting ALL the items then clicking “bulleted list” removes the bullets, but it also removes all the items, except the first.

Even “remove formatting” does not remove the bulleted list.

BUT.

“Remove formatting”, THEN “bulleted list” TWICE, finally gets it out of the list, leaving one stray bullet above.

EXPECTED UX: User can un-bullet a list of items (reverting them to paragraph items or just an un-listed list) by toggling the bullet list icon.

ACTUAL BAD UX: User cannot remove a bulleted list by toggling the bullet list icon (which is highlighted for the list), but instead must either re-type it entirely, copy and paste each individual item, or go through an inane sequence of unintuitive steps to unbullet the list.

[outlook365failures]

Control-A Only “Selects Visible”

I’m trying to clear out my Inbox. I don’t want to delete everything, I want to archive it. There is no “Archive All” option in the Inbox context-menu.  [ETA: I discovered you can “Archive” as an option under Sweep; while that was a random and unexpected option, this post’s bug still stands firm.]

So I load Inbox, press Ctrl-A and it selects roughly 5-8 messages. Some messages, even though they are partially visible, are unselected.

Outlook only applies “Ctrl+’A’” to the VISIBLE MESSAGES. Not all the messages currently in buffer (that behavior is what I would expect from a web-app).

If you zoom out (Ctrl+’-’) a few times, and press Ctrl+’A’, it will, in-fact, select all the messages that are visible (3-4x as many).

EXPECTED UX: The user expects Ctrl-A to select All or at LEAST select “Available”

ACTUAL BAD UX: The app only selects those items that are visible on the screen.