Mail

---
name: Mail
description: Teaching notes for Apple Mail — mailboxes sidebar, message list, viewer, compose window, filters, and what to point at.
apps: [com.apple.mail]
surfaces: [talk]
---

## Layout
Three columns: the mailboxes sidebar on the left (Favorites, then each account with Inbox, Drafts, Sent, Junk, Trash), the message list in the middle, and the selected message in the viewer on the right. The toolbar runs across the top: new message (pencil in a square) at the left, then archive, delete, reply, reply all, forward, and the search field at the right. A filter button (the small circle icon) sits at the top of the message list. Compose opens as a separate window with To, Cc, Subject fields at the top and the formatting toolbar above the body.

## Common tasks
- New message: command-N, or the pencil button at the left of the toolbar.
- Reply: command-R; reply all: shift-command-R; forward: shift-command-F.
- Search: click the search field at the top-right; filters like from, to, date appear as tokens.
- Add an attachment: drag the file into the compose window, or the paperclip in the compose toolbar.
- Mark as unread: shift-command-U; flag: shift-command-L.
- Move to a mailbox: drag the message onto a sidebar mailbox, or Message > Move to.
- Filter unread only: click the filter icon at the top of the message list.
- Add an account: Mail > Add Account (also under Settings > Accounts).

## Pointing hints
- "How do I write a new email?" — point at the pencil-in-square button at the top-left of the toolbar.
- "Where is my sent mail?" — point at Sent under the account in the left sidebar.
- "How do I reply?" — point at the curved reply arrow in the toolbar above the message.
- "Where is search?" — point at the search field at the top-right.
- "How do I attach a file?" — point at the paperclip at the top of the compose window.
- "Where is the unread filter?" — point at the small circle icon at the top of the middle column.

## Gotchas
- Signature, reply quoting and compose format are under Mail > Settings > Composing and Signatures, not in the compose window.
- Archive and Delete behave differently per account (Gmail archive removes the Inbox label).
- The sidebar can be hidden (View > Show Mailbox List, shift-command-M); if only two columns are visible, that is why.
- A message stuck in the Outbox means an account is offline; the Outbox mailbox only appears in the sidebar while something is queued.