# Read, reply and send email

> Read your conversations in Mail, reply, reply all, forward or write a new message, confirm who it goes to, and move through the inbox from the keyboard.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-read-and-reply
Section: Communicate > Mail
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

Mail shows your inbox as conversations: a message and the replies to it sit together in one row. Open one to read it, then answer it from the same screen. Everything you send goes out from your own email address, and nothing leaves until you have seen exactly who it is going to.

## Before you start

- **Connect your mailbox.** See [Connect your email account](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-connect-account).
- **Plans.** Reading and sending mail is part of every plan.

## Read your mail

1. In the side menu, open **Apps** and click **Mail** under **Tools**.
2. Click a conversation in the list. Its newest message opens in the reading pane on the right, and is marked as read in your mailbox too.

### What you will see in the list

- **Who it is from.** One or two names, or the first two and a count, such as **Sam Lee, Priya Nair +2**, when more people have written in the conversation.
- **A dot and bold text** for a conversation with unread mail in it.
- **A number** for how many messages the conversation holds. Rest the pointer on it to read, for example, **4 messages in this conversation**.
- **A paperclip** when a message in it has an attachment.
- **The time** for mail from today, or the date for older mail, then the subject on the line below.

Replies are grouped with the message they answer. Messages that share the same subject are grouped too, even when they come from different people.

### What you will see in the reading pane

- **The subject**, then the sender's name and address, and the date.
- **The buttons**: **Reply**, **Reply all**, **Forward**, **Send to desk** and **Make a task**. When the message has attachments, a note such as **2 attachments** sits beside them.
- **The message.**
- **Attachments**, listed by name at the bottom.

When you open a message, Plexii may also show a **Suggested reply** above it. See [AI reply drafts in your voice](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-ai-reply-drafts).

### Pictures in HTML email

Mail holds back pictures that a message loads from the internet. When a message has them, a bar above it says **Remote images are blocked to stop senders tracking when you open mail.** Click **Load remote content** to show them for that message. The next message you open starts with them held back again.

### Older mail

Mail loads your newest messages first. At the bottom of the list:

- **Show more** fetches the next batch of older mail from your mail server. While it works, the button reads **Fetching from the server…**.
- A count such as **80 of 860 messages** says how many you have loaded of all the messages in your inbox.
- **That is the whole inbox.** means there is nothing older to fetch.

To find an older message without scrolling, search for it. See [Search your mail](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-search).

## Reply or reply all

1. Open the message.
2. Click **Reply** to answer the sender, or **Reply all** to include everyone else it was sent to. A **Reply** window opens.
3. Check the recipients. **Reply** fills in **To** with the sender. **Reply all** also puts the other recipients in **Cc**, leaving out you and the sender.
4. Write above the quoted message. The subject starts with **Re:**, and the original is quoted underneath, after a line saying when it was sent and who wrote it.
5. Click **Send**, then check the recipients and click **Confirm send**. See [Send and confirm](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-read-and-reply#send-and-confirm).

Your reply is threaded with the original, so it joins the same conversation in your recipient's mailbox and in yours.

## Forward a message

1. Open the message and click **Forward**.
2. A **New message** window opens with the subject starting **Fwd:** and the original text under a **---------- Forwarded message ----------** line, with its sender, date and subject.
3. Type who it goes to in **To**, add a note above the forwarded text, and send it.

## Write a new message

1. Click **Compose a new message** (the pencil at the top of the message list).
2. In the **New message** window, fill in **To**. Click **Cc/Bcc** to add copies.
3. Type a **Subject** and your message in **Write your message…**.
4. Click **Send**, then **Confirm send**.

You can also start a new message from anywhere: press `⌘` `K` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `K` on Windows and choose **Compose mail**, or click **Compose email** on **Office Home**.

Separate several addresses with commas, semicolons or spaces. The top right of the window shows the address you are sending **from**.

## Send and confirm

Every message takes two presses to send, so you catch a wrong address before it leaves.

1. Click **Send**, or press `⌘` `Enter` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `Enter` on Windows.
2. A line appears above the button, such as **Sending to sam@example.com · cc priya@example.com**, and the button changes to **Confirm send**.
3. Click **Confirm send**, or press the same keys again.

If you change the recipients, the subject or the message after the first press, you are asked to confirm again. When the message has gone, a notice says so, for example **Sent to sam@example.com (+1 cc/bcc)**.

To close the window without sending, click **Discard** or press `Esc`.

> **Note:**
> Messages you write in Mail are plain text, and forwarding sends the original message's text.

## Work through the inbox from the keyboard

When you are not typing in a box:

| Key | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `j` | Open the next conversation down the list. |
| `k` | Open the conversation above. |
| `r` | Reply to the message that is open. |
| `a` | Archive the message that is open, and open the one that takes its place. |

A reminder, **j / k move through the inbox, r replies, a archives**, sits at the top of the list. The keys move through your whole inbox, even while a tag or a search narrows the list.

Archiving moves the message out of your inbox into your mailbox's archive folder on the mail server, so it is out of the inbox everywhere you read your mail. See [Keyboard shortcuts](https://plexiidesk.com/help/keyboard-shortcuts).

## When something goes wrong

| Mail says | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Add at least one recipient in the To field.** | Type at least one address in **To**. |
| **That does not look like an email address:** followed by the address | Correct the address shown. Check for a missing @ or a stray character. |
| **Could not load your inbox.** | Mail could not read your mailbox. Click **Refresh**. If it keeps happening, check your connection in **Account** > **Account settings**. See [Connect your email account](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-connect-account). |
| **(This message has no text body.)** | The message was sent without any text, for example with only an attachment. |

If sending fails, the window stays open with the reason, so you can fix it and send again.

## Tips

- **Read the confirm line.** It names every recipient, including **cc** and **bcc**. It is the moment to spot the wrong Sam.
- **Clear the inbox with `a`.** Read with `j`, archive with `a`, and the next message opens by itself.
- **Turn a message into work.** Use **Send to desk** to keep it with a project, or **Make a task** to put it on your list. See [Put an email on a desk or turn it into a task](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-to-desk-and-tasks).

## Common questions

**Can I attach a file?** Not from Mail. Messages you write in Mail are plain text.

**Can I open an attachment?** The reading pane lists attachments by name. Open the message in your usual email app to save one. Search in Mail can find text inside attachments. See [Search your mail](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-search).

**Where does archived mail go?** To your mailbox's archive folder on the mail server. If your mailbox has none, Mail makes one called **Archive**.

**Can I reply from a desk?** Yes. Open a message in an [Inbox widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-inbox) and click **Reply** or **Reply all**.

## Related tasks

- [Mail in Plexii](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-overview)
- [AI reply drafts in your voice](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-ai-reply-drafts)
- [Search your mail](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-search)
- [Put an email on a desk or turn it into a task](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-to-desk-and-tasks)
- [Keyboard shortcuts](https://plexiidesk.com/help/keyboard-shortcuts)
- [Inbox widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-inbox)