Create templates, drag and drop elements, more

Mac and iOS developer Equinox has released a new HTML-based designer for e-mail designed to work specifically with Apple's Mail program and its stationery templates called Mail Designer. Using templates and customizable art elements, users can drag and drop copy, images and other elements directly onto a canvas to quickly and easily create HTML e-mails readable by most modern e-mail clients, as well as templates suitable for future use inside Apple Mail.

The program acts like an extension of Mail's stationery features, allowing users to customize elements (though with Apple's own built-in templates, the layout will remain fixed). Equinox's own well-regarded Stationery Packs and Stationery Collections are compatible with the app, and allow businesses and individuals to start with a basic template and customize it as little or as much as they like to make designs for newsletters, offers, e-mail "blasts," invitations or occasion "postcards" of all types. Each design can be saved into Mail's built-in Stationery collection and requires no knowledge of HTML, working more like a standard desktop layout tool.

Mail Designer is priced at $70 and is available now for download. A boxed version will soon be available at Apple retailers. The company is offering Mail Designer along with their Stationery Pack Business Edition -- a collection of over 200 business-oriented professional templates and elements -- as a bundle for $100. The program requires an Intel Mac running OS X 10.5.8 or higher.

by MacNN Staff