This software is downloadable for free (with limited features) and the premium is available for $49.99 in the Mac App Store. The trial version gives you the opportunity to explore the basics and its overall functionality before purchasing it. We checked the basic features and how the mobile preview works for that sound responsive newsletter across devices.
Installing Mail Designer Pro 2
- Go to the official Equinox website and click the “Try for free” link.
- Once the file is finished, unzip or decompress it to launch the software – around 218 MB – no installation is required.
Exploring the dashboard and basic functions
The UI/UX blends perfectly with the OS X ecosystem. The menu bar provides all the options on top that you need when creating the newsletter. Meanwhile, the sidebar with the “Design Ideas” makes it easier to go back to the home page or start from scratch and choose from other templates. If you’ve accidentally closed the “Designer Chooser” you can access it in the File tab or press “command + O”
Purchasing a license unlocks the 32 templates that you can freely customise. For the meantime, the trial version subjectively allows you to create a draft of the newsletter, customise the fonts and texts, and preview it in multiple devices (it supports up to 14 devices). You may drag-and-drop items and objects in the workspace.
When you open a template, the desktop and mobile device previews open simultaneously. With the mobile preview, you can change it from vertical to horizontal and choose among the common devices.
However, when creating the draft on the workspace, you can only view it vertically.
The ruler and distances are activated by default in the toolbar, which provide measurements of distances between objects or graphics and more. You can also customise the toolbar and add icons. Simply drag them into the toolbar, which you deemed useful when crafting newsletters.
When creating in desktop mode, each element or object in the workspace comes with another toolbar set for customisation. The “Image Area” provides you editing tools, whilst the “Text Area” gives you options for fonts, style, etc.
Mail Designer Pro 2 allows you to export your letters to MailChimp and also supports campaign monitoring, email and share options. However, these features are only available in the licensed version.
Meanwhile, the Holiday Season Blueprints package is for sale, tagged at $20 as an in-app purchase.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the demo version of Mail Designer Pro 2 allows you to create a newsletter as draft and preview it on multiple devices only. If you’re after a mobile-responsive, artistically designed newsletter, the software meets your designing needs. As of this writing, Mail Designer Pro 2 only supports MailChimp export. Personally, I think this software is just a supplementary tool for advanced email marketing campaigns. And if your current email app like MailChimp or GetResponse supports the above-mentioned features like mobile preview on the dashboard, you may use Mail Designer Pro 2 and then export the document to enhance your rich and optimised newsletters. I’ve used the app many times, and it crashes frequently. There were instances when I activated the mobile preview and switched to different devices and experienced lags. What do you think of Mail Designer Pro 2?
