The email client
Emails → Email Client reads and sends email from the mailboxes you have connected. See Email accounts and signatures for connecting one. You only see your own mailboxes.
Open in Clockwork CRMEnter your Clockwork CRM address at the top of the page to open this in your Clockwork CRM.
Finding your way around
The client is in three columns:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Mailboxes | Each mailbox you have connected, with the folders of the one that is open |
| Message list | The messages in the chosen folder, newest first |
| Reading pane | The message you are reading or writing |
Manage Accounts, under the mailboxes, opens your mailbox settings.
Click a mailbox to open it and show its folders. Each mailbox has the system folders Inbox, Draft, Sent, Trash, Archive and Outbox. Folders from your email provider, and folders you add, are listed with them. A folder with unread mail shows the number of unread messages, up to 99+.
Folders
Add Folder, at the foot of the open mailbox, adds a folder. The folder form has a Name and a colour. The colour is shown as a dot next to the folder and on its labels.
Right-click a folder for more options. System folders have a shorter list.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mark all read and Mark all unread | Changes every message in the folder |
| Mark all private and Mark all not private | Changes every message in the folder. System folders only |
| Move all mail | Moves every message in the folder to a folder you choose |
| Delete all mail | Deletes every message in the folder. Shown when the folder has mail |
| Unlink all mail | Removes the links between the folder's messages and your contacts |
| Automatically link mail | Links each unlinked message in the folder to the people and companies whose email addresses it contains, then tells you how many were linked |
| Execute rule | Runs one of your rulesets on the folder. See Running a ruleset on a folder |
| Add sub folder | Adds a folder inside this one |
| Rename folder | Changes the folder's name and colour. Your own folders only |
| Delete folder | Deletes the folder and the folders inside it. Their mail moves to Trash. Your own folders only |
Each of the bulk options asks you to confirm first.
Drag a folder to change its place in the list. For Microsoft, Google and IMAP mailboxes you cannot move a folder into another folder in Clockwork CRM. Do it with your email provider and the change syncs back.
The message list
The toolbar above the list:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| New | Starts a new email |
| Delete | Deletes the selected messages |
| Archive | Moves the selected messages to Archive |
| Move | Moves the selected messages to a folder you choose |
| Unread | Shows only unread messages. Click again to show all |
| Flagged | Shows only flagged messages. Click again to show all |
Deleting a message moves it to Trash. Deleting a message that is already in Trash removes it for good, after you confirm.
The search box, Start typing to search your mail, searches the open folder. It matches the subject, the start of the message, and the names and addresses of the sender and recipients.
Messages are grouped under Today, Yesterday, This Week, Last Week, This Month and Older. More messages load as you scroll to the bottom, or when you click Load More.
Each message shows the sender, subject, the start of the message and when it was sent. Icons show when it has attachments, and when it has been replied to, forwarded, marked private or flagged.
Selecting messages
- Click a message to open it.
- Hold Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) and click to add or remove messages from the selection.
- Hold Shift and click to select every message between the last one you clicked and this one.
- Drag a message onto a folder to move it there.
The bar at the foot of the list acts on the selected messages. Hover over an icon to see its name.
| Icon | What it does |
|---|---|
| Link to contacts | Links the messages to people or companies you choose |
| Unlink from all contacts | Removes every contact link from the messages |
| Labels | Adds or removes labels. See Labels |
| Flag and Unflag | Flags the messages or removes the flag |
| Mark as unread and Mark as read | Changes whether the messages are read |
| Mark as private and Mark as not private | Changes whether the messages are private |
Each asks you to confirm first.
The menu on a message (the three dots) has Move to folder, Labels, Mark as read or Mark as unread, Mark as private or Mark as not private, Flag or Unflag, Archive and Delete.
Labels
A label puts a message under one of your own folders while it stays in its home folder. The folder you add it to becomes the label. System folders cannot be labels.
To label messages:
- Select the messages.
- Click Labels in the bar at the foot of the list, or choose Labels from a message's menu.
- Tick a label to add it to the messages, or untick it to remove it. Find a label filters the list.
- Click Done.
You can also drag a folder from the mailbox column onto a message to label it.
A message's labels are shown on it in the list and in the reading pane. Click a label to open that folder, or its cross to remove the label from that message.
Reading an email
Opening a message marks it as read. Opening a message in Draft opens it for editing.
The reading pane shows the sender, the To and Cc recipients, the date and time it was sent, and the subject. Senders and recipients who are your contacts or users are shown with their picture. Attachments are listed above the message. Click one to download it.
The toolbar:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reply | Replies to the sender |
| Reply All | Replies to the sender and everyone in To and Cc |
| Forward | Forwards the message and its attachments |
| Mark Read or Mark Unread | Changes whether the message is read |
| Mark Private or Mark Not Private | Changes whether the message is private |
| Flag or Unflag | Flags the message or removes the flag |
| Link | Shows and changes the contacts the message is linked to. See Linking emails to contacts |
| Options | Show message headers, or Download as ".eml" file |
When a message has an unsubscribe option, the pane shows This message contains an unsubscribe option. Unsubscribe sends the unsubscribe request for you. Manage subscriptions, when shown, opens the sender's own page.
Meeting invitations
A meeting invitation shows what the meeting is, when and where, and who is attending.
When the meeting needs your response, add an optional Message to the organiser, then click Accept, Maybe or Decline. Choose Send a response to tell the organiser, or Don't send a response to reply without telling them. Accept and Maybe put the meeting in your calendar. Once you have replied, the invitation is deleted from the folder.
When a meeting is cancelled, Remove from calendar takes it off your calendar.
Linking emails to contacts
A message linked to a person or company appears on the Emails tab of their record.
To link the message you are reading:
- Click Link in the reading pane.
- The menu lists the Linked People and Linked Companies, then Suggested People and Suggested Companies. Suggestions are contacts whose email address, or company website or email domain, matches an address on the message.
- Click a suggestion to link it, or a linked contact to unlink it.
- Link to other searches for any person or company. Choose one or more and click Link.
To link several messages at once, select them and click Link to contacts in the bar at the foot of the list. Linking several messages replaces any contacts they were already linked to.
Other ways to link:
- Automatically link mail on a folder's right-click menu links that folder's unlinked mail.
- Automatically Link Incoming Emails to Contacts in the mailbox settings links new mail as it arrives.
Private emails
A private email that is linked to a contact is shown on that contact's record only to you. Other users do not see it.
Writing an email
- Click New, or Reply, Reply All or Forward on a message.
- Add recipients in To and CC. Click BCC at the end of the To line to add a BCC line.
- Enter a Subject.
- Write the message in the editor.
- Click Send.
Send is available once there is at least one recipient in To, a subject and a message. The message goes from the mailbox that is open.
The toolbar:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Send | Sends the email |
| Discard | Throws the email away |
| Attach | Attaches files from the file browser |
| Private or Not private | Switches the email between private and not private |
| Priority | Sets the email's priority: Very High, High, Normal, Low or Very Low |
| Importance | Sets the email's importance: Very High, High, Normal, Low or Very Low |
| Use Template | Starts the email from one of your marketing templates or stencils |
A new email starts as private when Mark All Incoming Emails as Private is on for the mailbox.
Attached files are shown under the subject. Click the cross on one to remove it.
Templates and merge fields
Use Template needs exactly one recipient in To. Search for the template and choose it. Its content is added to the top of the message, with its merge fields filled in for that recipient. Its subject is used when the subject is empty, and its attachments are added.
When the first recipient in To is a person or company in your contacts, Person Merge Fields or Company Merge Fields appears above the editor. Choose a field to add that contact's value to the message.
Signatures and fonts
The mailbox's signature is added below where you type in a new email, reply or forward. It cannot be edited inside the message. The text starts in the mailbox's default font and size. Both are set in the mailbox settings.
Replies and forwards
A reply or forward opens with the original message quoted below, headed by who it was from, when it was sent, who it was to and its subject. A reply's subject starts with RE: and a forward's with FW:. A reply goes to the sender's reply-to address when the message has one.
Drafts
If you leave an email you have changed, Clockwork CRM asks whether to save it as a draft. Yes, save as a draft keeps it in Draft. No, discard this email throws it away. Open a draft from Draft to carry on writing it.
Running a ruleset on a folder
A ruleset normally runs on new mail as it arrives. You can also run one on the mail already in a folder.
- Right-click the folder and choose Execute rule. It is on the system folders, and on your own folders for POP3 mailboxes.
- Choose the Rule. Only rulesets whose run mode allows manual running are listed.
- Click Execute.
The dialog shows its progress and closes when every message has been checked. See Email rulesets.
When a mailbox needs signing in again
When a mailbox needs re-authenticating, the client tells you that you cannot send or receive email from it until you do. Re-Authenticate opens the mailbox's settings, where you click Re-authenticate Account. See Email accounts and signatures.
Related
- Email accounts and signatures
- Email rulesets, acting on mail automatically
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