The list of changes since version 1.7.2 (r3905) is very long and all the details can be seen in the release notes. Version 1.8 is best described as a major maintenance release including numerous bug fixes, stability improvements, and minor feature enhancements. The following are some of the most interesting new features:

  • New: Redirection of a message using “Message ▸ Redirect” (⌥⌘E) or the redirectMessage: key binding. This opens a special composer window which only allows editing a fixed set of headers. MailMate also adds a $Redirected flag to any redirected messages.
  • New: Support for using an external editor to write emails (built-in support for TextMate, Sublime Text, and MacVim).
  • New: HTML signatures can be configured in the “Signatures” preferences pane. They work in both plain text and Markdown mode. (More details in the manual.)

At the time of writing, Apple has not yet released Yosemite (OS X 10.10), but I do expect this version of MailMate to be compatible.

Here are answers to what I expect to be frequently asked questions (some duplicates from an older post as well):

  • Any new graphics in version 1.8?

    No, but it’s funny that you ask. I have just setup a page in the MailMate store to allow users to explicitly contribute to the purpose of making me hire a graphics designer to change that. Read more about that here.

  • Is a license key bought in the store today also valid for version 2.x?

    Yes.

  • When is MailMate 2.0 released?

    I don’t know, but it probably matters more to me than to you. I need it for marketing purposes. You need it for the features, but the development of MailMate is an open process and you can use new features in the betas/releases of MailMate 1.x by enabling 2.0 features in the General preferences pane. If feeling adventurous, you can even fetch cutting edge test releases by holding down ⌥ when clicking “Check Now” in the Software Update preferences pane.

  • What happened to the crowd funding money?

    I still have most of the (post-tax) money and they ensure that I’ll be able to continue working on MailMate full time for at least another 6 months. Probably much more than that, but this depends on the daily sales and I don’t want to make promises I cannot keep.