Reading Emails
Viewing a Message
Click on any message in the message list to open it in the reading pane. The message body is displayed in a secure sandbox that protects you from potentially harmful content.
You can navigate between messages using the keyboard:
- j -- next message
- k -- previous message
- o or Enter -- open message
- u -- back to list
External Images
For privacy protection, MailCopilot blocks external images in emails by default. When a message contains blocked images, you will see a banner:
"External images are blocked for privacy protection."
Click Show images to load them for that specific message. If you prefer to always load images, enable "Always load external images" in Settings > Productivity.
Conversation Threading
When conversation grouping is enabled (the default), related messages are grouped into threads. You will see a badge showing the number of messages in a thread. Click the thread to expand it and see all messages in the conversation.
You can enable or disable conversation grouping in Settings > Productivity > Group messages into conversations.
Thread Actions
When viewing a thread (conversation with multiple messages), action buttons appear in the thread strip header:
- Mark all read -- marks all messages in the thread as read.
- Archive thread -- moves the entire thread to the Archive folder.
- Delete thread -- moves the entire thread to the Trash folder.
These actions apply to all messages in the thread at once, saving you from having to act on each message individually.
Working with Attachments
Attachments are listed below the message body. Each attachment shows its filename and size. Click the download button next to an attachment to save it to your computer.
Links in Emails
When you click a link in an email, MailCopilot checks it for safety:
- Mismatched links -- if the link text shows one domain but the actual link goes to a different domain, a warning is displayed.
- HTTP links -- links using unencrypted HTTP trigger a warning.
- IDN/Punycode domains -- domains using internationalized characters are flagged.
For suspicious links, a confirmation dialog appears where you can see the actual destination and choose whether to open it or cancel.
Message Actions
While reading a message, you can:
- Reply -- compose a reply to the sender (shortcut: r).
- Reply All -- reply to all recipients (shortcut: a).
- Forward -- forward the message to someone else (shortcut: f).
- Star / Unstar -- mark the message as important (shortcut: s).
- Delete -- move the message to Trash (shortcut: # or Delete).
- Archive -- move the message to the Archive folder (shortcut: e).
- Mark as spam -- move the message to the Spam folder (shortcut: !).
- Mark as read / unread -- toggle the read status (shortcuts: Shift+I / Shift+U).
- Move to folder -- move the message to a specific folder (shortcut: v).
- Snooze -- temporarily hide the message and have it reappear at a later time. See below for details.
- Pin / Unpin -- pin a message to the top of the message list. Pinned messages always appear first, regardless of sort order (shortcut: p).
- Print -- print the current email (shortcut: Ctrl+P).
Snoozing Messages
Snooze lets you temporarily hide a message and have it reappear at a chosen time, so you can deal with it when you are ready.
How to Snooze
- Hover over a message in the list and click the clock icon in the quick action buttons.
- Or right-click a message and choose Snooze from the context menu.
Snooze Options
Choose from preset times or set a custom date and time:
- Later today -- the next half-hour mark.
- Tomorrow morning (09:00).
- Next week (Monday 09:00).
- Custom -- pick any future date and time.
The Snoozed Folder
Snoozed messages appear in the Snoozed folder in the sidebar. When the snooze time arrives, the message reappears in your inbox and you receive a notification.
Click any snoozed message to open and read it without cancelling the snooze. To unsnooze a message early, click the Cancel button next to it.
Read Later
Read Later lets you bookmark emails for later reading -- perfect for long newsletters, reference material, or anything you want to come back to when you have time.
How to Add to Read Later
- Right-click a message and choose Read Later from the context menu.
- Or ask the AI assistant to mark an email for reading later.
The Read Later Folder
Bookmarked messages appear in the Read Later folder in the sidebar (the book icon). Unlike snoozed messages, Read Later emails remain visible in their original folder -- the Read Later folder is an additional view, not a filter.
Click any message in the Read Later folder to open and read it. To remove a message from the list, click the Remove button next to it.
You can quickly navigate to the Read Later folder with the keyboard shortcut g then r.
Undo Actions
After deleting, archiving, or marking a message as spam, an undo bar appears at the bottom of the screen with a countdown timer. Click Undo to reverse the action before the timer expires.