Already implemented:

• open single message in a new tab/window via messageDisplay.open()
• set selected message(s) in mailTab via mailTabs.setSelectedMessages() - which either loads the message or shows the multi-messages-selected view.

What is still todo is loading an arbitrary set of messages ("show results as list"). Neither the messageDisplay API nor the mailTabs API seem to be good candidates. The mailTabs API seems wrong, because that view is not a real mailTab (you cannot enable the folder pane and cannot disable the message pane).

Should we bake this into a new API? A messageListTabs API?

• query
• getListedMessages(tabId)
  • [could be added to mailTabs API as well]
• getSelectedMessages(tabId)
• setSelectedMessages(tabId, messages)
• setQuickFilter
• open(messages)
  • [we only support that in a tab right? I was not able to trigger standalone message list windows.]
  • [we do not have a way to open a new mailTab either, so this could be added as mailTabs.open(folder) as well]
  • [alternative name: create]
• update(tabId)
  • layout
  • viewType
  • sortOrder
  • sortType

Events:

• onSelectedMessagesChanged
• onListedMessagesChanged

It does look very similar to the mailTabs API, but has a few important differences. But since I suggest giving these tabs a "messageList" type instead of using the "mail" type for these, a new API seems plausible. Even if it has almost the same interface (but it is message-centric and not folder-centric).

Postponed until we have the new tab implementations in place.