# Apple Mail: isn't there a dual pane option for viewing??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031 "2008-03-11T22:29:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/1 "2008-03-11T22:29:27Z")
I can’t believe I’m asking this, I’m something of a Mac weenie… but I can’t figure out how to have a message view pane, and I know it’s possible, I’ve seen screenshots in relation to other things. You know…scrolling through messages, bottom or side the message is visible, so I don’t have to actually OPEN the message to see it? HELP! ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/2 "2008-03-11T22:54:36Z")
At the bottom of the Mail window where you see the list of subjects, you should see a dot. Drag the dot upwards to reveal the message pane. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/3 "2008-03-11T23:22:16Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] At the bottom of the Mail window where you see the list of subjects, you should see a dot. Drag the dot upwards to reveal the message pane. [/QUOTE] Damn, a computer question I knew that answer to and you beat me to it. DRAT! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/4 "2008-03-12T00:27:54Z")
But at least you can drag the dot upwards to reveal the message pane! ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/5 "2008-03-12T01:30:28Z")
Isn’t that so intuitive? ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/6 "2008-03-12T02:42:07Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] Isn’t that so intuitive? [/QUOTE] I’ve never understood why there’s not option for it under the View menu. I think I only discovered it by accident. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/7 "2008-03-12T07:05:58Z")
And if you’d rather see a side by side view, install the [Letterbox](http://harnly.net/software/letterbox/) extension. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/8 "2008-03-12T16:54:50Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] Isn’t that so intuitive? [/QUOTE] Kind of depends on whether you have ever used an email client that does the same thing. I know Notes does it this way. When I get home I’ll check how Entourage and Thunderbird do it. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/9 "2008-03-12T20:02:04Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] Isn’t that so intuitive? [/QUOTE] In their defense, the default is that the reading pane is visible when Mail is first installed, so it was apparently intuitive enough to allow someone to hide it in the first place. (Although you could hide it by making the Mail window very small and then large again, so I suppose it’s possible to do by accident). ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-mail-isnt-there-a-dual-pane-option-for-viewing/441031/10 "2008-03-12T21:23:03Z")
[QUOTE=The Shroud] And if you’d rather see a side by side view, install the [Letterbox](http://harnly.net/software/letterbox/) extension. [/QUOTE] That’s damn useful.