Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) Messages got a new look Thursday, as the website announced that it will shortly switch over to a two-panel layout.
The new format features a left-hand column displaying a list of all the user’s conversations, which open for display on the right when clicked. Additionally, Facebook has added a series of keyboard shortcuts which, while not immediately explained, can be revealed by typing Alt Q on a PC or Control Q on a Mac.
The move away from the much maligned single panel format, in which users had to open a new window or depart from one conversation to enter another, has received generally positive reviews from online commentators. As Firstpost remarked, “The messages tab on Facebook hasn’t exactly been a prize-winning feature but it seems that the site designers are finally taking note.”
Nonetheless, the change has been criticized by some who find it eerily familiar. The Daily Mail noted that “some users have already accused the firm of simply copying (Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad email system) with the two-pane design.”
—Ryan Hauck, InvestorPlace
