Read and reply
Click a conversation to open it. Opening it marks it read.
Inside a conversation, each new email starts a thread, shown under its subject with its replies below it, oldest first. The newest email in a thread is opened out; older ones fold to one line. Click the top of any email to open or close it. A thread that gets a new reply moves to the bottom, next to where you write.
Each email shows who sent it, who it went to, when, and the text. A long email shows its start with Read more. When a reply answers an email other than the one just above it, it starts with a short quote: In reply to ….
Reply
- Under the email you want to answer, press Reply.
- Type your reply in the box at the bottom and press Send (or Ctrl + Enter).
Things to know about replies:
- A reply goes to the same people as the conversation, and keeps the subject, so there are no To or Subject fields.
- You can reply to each email only once. After you reply, the button shows Replied and can't be pressed. You can still reply to a later email in the conversation.
- To start a new subject with the same people, press New email in this conversation at the bottom.
- What you type is kept as you go. If you leave the conversation without sending, it waits there for you (the conversation list shows Draft:). ✕ throws it away.
- The arrow next to Send schedules the reply for later, as in Write an email.
Reactions
Under an email, press the smiley to react with 👍 ❤️ 😂 😮 😢 or 🙏. Everyone in the conversation sees reactions straight away; hold the mouse over one to see who reacted. You have one reaction per email: pick another to change it, or the same one again to take it off. Reactions never send a text alert. (If you got an email as Bcc, you can't react to it, because that would show the others that you got it.)
Buttons under an email
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| ☆ / ★ (top right of the email) | Stars or un-stars it; starred conversations appear under Starred |
| Forward | Opens a new email with this one (and its files) underneath |
| Mark unread | Marks it unread again |
| Spam | Moves it to Spam |
| Delete | Moves it to Trash |
Spam and Delete only change your copy; the other people keep theirs. The note at the bottom has an Undo button.
The conversation's own buttons
At the top right of a conversation:
- Archive and Snooze (the clock) work as in the inbox.
- ⋮ More has Mark as unread, Mute (no alerts), Move to folder… (and Remove from folder when it is in one; see Your own folders), Block the person (in a one-to-one conversation) and Delete conversation.
Mute keeps the conversation as it is but stops text alerts and notifications for it. Block sends that person's future emails straight to Spam, without alerts; you can unblock them here or in Settings.
Groups
A group conversation shows its name and how many members it has. Press the people button at the top to see the members.
In the group panel, the group's admins can add members (by name, number or address), remove them, and make others admins. Anyone can press Leave group.
Files
Files sent to you show under the email with their name and size; pictures show a small preview. Click a picture or PDF to view it on top of the page (use the arrows to move between the email's files, and the download button to save it). Other files download when you click them.
Text alerts when you don't use the app
If you don't use a PhoneMail phone app and haven't turned on notifications, PhoneMail texts you when new mail arrives:
You have received an email from Ravi Kumar (9845012345@phonemail.net). Subject: Society meeting on Sunday.
- At most one text per conversation every 10 minutes, and at most 10 texts a day.
- No texts while you are signed in to the Android or iPhone app, which shows new mail itself, or when you turn on notifications in a browser (Settings → Notifications).
- Muted conversations and blocked people never send a text.