It did mislabel messages from a few friends and colleagues as “Newsletters,” though. It does that with folders and filters, and it did a remarkably good job of identifying some folks with whom I frequently trade messages. The Inbox Analyzer is designed to organize your newsletters and the people with whom you frequently correspond. The Bat Professional’s tools for streamlining your email management were a bit easier to use, but again, they feature something of a learning curve. It wasn’t until I closed The Bat and re-opened it that I was able to see a traditional view of my email messages.

A scrolling ticker at the bottom of the screen displayed my messages, making it hard to get an overview of the contents of my account. But clicking on my account properties never brought up a view of the messages in my account instead the two panes on the right displayed details of The Bat!’s configuration. The Bat!’s familiar layout listed the account details in a panel on the left side of the screen, while the right side was broken into two panes, conceivably for viewing a list of messages on top and a message preview on the bottom. Viewing the contents of my inbox was challenging. That’s why I found using The Bat involved a bit of trial and error, especially when I was getting started. Its icons are a bit simplistic, though, giving it a dated look, and when the icon’s function isn’t immediately apparent, hovering over it doesn’t bring up any text to clue you in. The Bat!’s interface looks like your average email client, with tabs and panes for viewing accounts, folders, message lists, and message previews. Adding my Gmail account was easier than gaining access to its contents via The Bat, though.

Is the bat email free