Suggest a new feature

Prerequisites

• I have searched for duplicate or closed feature requests
• I have searched for plugins that provide already provide the feature

Proposal

Hello Roundcube Team,

First of all, thank you for maintaining and developing Roundcube.

I am opening this feature request / usability feedback regarding the behavior of the compose screen in the standard Elastic skin.

Current Behavior: When clicking "Compose" ("Nuova email"), the application switches to a full-screen layout. The only built-in alternative is opening the composition in an external browser window/tab (compose_extwin).

The Problem: In a professional environment where email management requires multi-tasking (e.g., cross-referencing incoming messages, checking calendars, or copying data from other threads while writing a reply), the current implementation forces an inefficient workflow:

The full-screen layout hides the rest of the webmail interface completely.

Using the external window option (compose_extwin) is counterproductive on single-screen setups or mobile/remote workstations, because clicking back on the main webmail interface immediately pushes the compose window to the background, requiring constant window-switching and minimizing.

Proposed Solution / Feature Request: Could you consider implementing a native, non-modal floating popup / overlay compose window (similar to modern webmail clients like Gmail or Outlook Web) that stays pinned/floating on top of the main UI? This would allow users to compose emails while freely interacting with, scrolling through, and referencing the rest of their mailbox without losing focus or breaking workflow momentum.

Thank you for your time, consideration, and for keeping Roundcube a robust open-source solution.

Best regards,

Andrea

Motivation and context

In a professional working environment, email management requires constant multitasking—such as referencing past threads, checking dates, or pulling information from other messages while drafting a reply.

Currently, the standard Elastic skin forces a full-screen layout or requires opening the composition in an external browser tab (compose_extwin). On single-screen setups, laptops, or mobile/remote workstations (where multi-monitor configurations are not available), this creates a major usability bottleneck:

Full-screen composition completely hides the rest of the mailbox, breaking workflow continuity.

The external tab approach fails because clicking back on the main webmail interface instantly pushes the composition window into the background, forcing users into a frustrating loop of constant window-minimizing and context-switching.

Introducing a native, non-modal floating/overlay compose window (similar to modern webmail standards) would dramatically improve daily productivity, allowing users to write emails while freely interacting with, scrolling through, and referencing their inbox without losing focus.