Basic

Composing and sending

This page explains how to write and send a brand-new email from MailDesk: opening the composer, addressing it to the right people, formatting the message, attaching files, saving a draft, and sending. It also covers two features that make repeated mail faster — signatures and email templates — both of which are Available in: Pro.

8 min read Basic

This page explains how to write and send a brand-new email from MailDesk: opening the composer, addressing it to the right people, formatting the message, attaching files, saving a draft, and sending. It also covers two features that make repeated mail faster — signatures and email templates — both of which are Available in: Pro.

Composing versus replying

Use Compose to start a fresh conversation. To continue an existing one, use Reply, Reply All, or Forward instead — those are covered in Replying and forwarding. The composer window itself works the same way in all of these cases.

What it does

The composer is a small, movable window where you write an email. You can:

choose which mailbox the message is sent From,
add recipients in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields,
write a Subject,
format the body with a rich-text editor (bold, lists, links, images, and so on),
attach files,
save a draft to finish later, and
send the message immediately.

Why it matters

Everything happens inside Odoo, so you compose with the same contacts, mailboxes, and (in Pro) signatures and templates you already use — no separate mail program, and a copy of everything you send is kept in your Sent folder.

Requirements

At least one mailbox connected to MailDesk that you have access to.
For sending, that mailbox needs a working outgoing mail server (set up by your administrator as part of connecting the account).

Permissions required

You can compose and send from any mailbox you have access to.
Picking a template or a signature in the composer is available to any mailbox user. Creating and editing templates is an administrator task; you can manage your own signatures from the MailDesk Signatures menu.

Write and send a new email

Click Compose at the top of the folder tree. A composer window opens.
In From, choose the mailbox you want to send from (if you have more than one).
Optionally adjust the Sender Name shown to your recipient.
Type one or more recipients in To. Use the Cc and Bcc options to add copied recipients (see below).
Enter a Subject.
Write your message in the editor. You can format text, add links and images, and so on.
Attach any files (see Adding attachments).
Click Send.

The MailDesk composer window with From, To, Subject, and the editor

Expected result: the message is sent through your mailbox's outgoing server and appears in your Sent folder right away. If the recipient later replies, their reply joins the same conversation.

Why the sent message appears instantly

MailDesk shows your sent message in the Sent folder the moment you press Send, then quietly replaces it with your provider's own copy on the next sync. This avoids the "where did my sent mail go?" gap some email clients have. A short delay before the provider's copy arrives is normal.

The composer window can be minimized to a small bubble (to keep writing while you look something up), expanded to fullscreen, and closed. Closing discards unsaved changes, so save a draft first if you want to keep your work.

To, Cc, and Bcc

Field	Who it is for	Visibility
To	The main recipient(s) of the message	Visible to everyone
Cc	People who should be kept informed	Visible to all recipients
Bcc	People who get a copy without others knowing	Hidden from other recipients

The Cc and Bcc fields are hidden until you turn them on from the To field's controls, which keeps the composer tidy when you do not need them.

Use Bcc with care

Recipients cannot see who is on Bcc. It is useful for keeping a private copy or for not exposing a large recipient list — but double-check the field before sending so a copy does not go somewhere unexpected.

Adding attachments

Attach a file with the Attach button in the composer footer. Attached files are listed above the footer, and you can remove one before sending.

For the full details — including previewing and downloading files you receive — see Working with attachments.

Tip

Keep attachments to a reasonable size, and use a link for very large files. Always glance at the attachment list before pressing Send.

Saving a draft

If you are not ready to send, click Draft in the composer footer to save your work. The saved message appears in your Drafts folder, marked with a [Draft] label, and you can open it again to keep writing.

To continue a draft, open it from the Drafts folder and choose Edit Draft — the composer reopens with everything you had written.

Note

Closing a composer window discards anything unsaved. Save a draft first if you want to keep it.

Signatures

Available in: Pro

With MailDesk Pro, each mailbox can carry its own signature, so a personal mailbox and a shared team mailbox sign off differently without you pasting the right block each time. When you compose or reply, the mailbox's default signature is added to the bottom of the message automatically; you can switch it, edit it inline, or remove it for that one message.

Choose or change a signature while composing

In the composer footer, click the signature button.
The Choose Signature picker lists the signatures available for the current mailbox, with a badge showing each one's scope and which is the Default.
Click a signature to insert it. It replaces any signature already in the message.

Selecting a signature also sets the sender name

Choosing a signature updates both the signature block and the Sender Name shown to your recipient, so the two always match.

Manage your signatures

Open MailDesk → Signatures (or, for the Manage Signatures button inside the picker, the same list opens).
Click New to add a signature.
Set the name, the mailbox it belongs to, an optional Sender Name, and write the signature content in the rich-text body. Tick Default to make it the automatic choice for that mailbox.
Save.

You can keep several signatures for one mailbox — for example a longer one with your full details for first contact, and a short one for ongoing replies — and pick the right one from the composer.

This differs from the official Knowledge article

The customer Knowledge base describes adding signatures in a Signatures section on the Mailbox Account form. In the shipped product, signatures are their own list reached from MailDesk → Signatures (and chosen in the composer through the Choose Signature picker). The steps above match the product.

If a signature does not appear

Confirm the mailbox has at least one signature and that one is marked Default, and check that the composer's From field shows the mailbox you expect. For shared mailboxes, your administrator can manage signatures on your behalf.

Email templates

Available in: Pro

Templates speed up repeated messages — quote follow-ups, support replies, onboarding notes. With MailDesk Pro you pick a template directly from the composer, and it fills in the subject, body, and recipients for you to adjust before sending.

Insert a template while composing

In the composer footer, click the Insert template button.
The Insert email template picker opens. Search by name, subject, or model.
Click a template. Its content is merged into your message — the subject is set, the body is added, and any recipients and attachments from the template are brought in.
Edit the result as needed and send.

Templates never fire on their own

A template is a starting point you choose by hand — MailDesk does not send automatic replies.

Templates tied to a record

A template can be linked to an Odoo record type (a contact, CRM lead, Helpdesk ticket, Sale order, and so on). When you pick a record-bound template, MailDesk asks you to pick a record so it can fill in the template's placeholders — the customer's name, an order number, a ticket subject — from that record. If you would rather not, choose Apply without a record and the record-specific placeholders stay empty.

If the email you are replying to is already linked to a record, the picker can use that record directly and skip the extra step.

Manage templates (administrators)

Templates are created and edited by administrators from MailDesk → Configuration → Mailboxes → Email Templates. There you set the template's name, subject, body, attachments, recipients, and any record binding. Once saved, it appears in the composer's template picker for the relevant users.