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A day with MailDesk

This page walks through a realistic working day in MailDesk — triage, read, reply, link to a record, and tag — using everyday actions you can confirm in the interface. The names and companies here are fictional examples.

7 min read Basic

This page walks through a realistic working day in MailDesk — triage, read, reply, link to a record, and tag — using everyday actions you can confirm in the interface. The names and companies here are fictional examples.

Available in: Basic. The whole read-reply-tag flow is part of the MailDesk engine. Linking an email to a lead, ticket, or order through a dedicated side panel is provided by the matching integration module (for example, the CRM integration, Helpdesk integration, or Sales integration), and AI assistance and the mobile-adaptive layout are part of Pro. Each step below notes which module it belongs to.

What it does

MailDesk is built around conversations, not single messages. Replies and forwards stay grouped into one thread across Gmail, Outlook, and IMAP, so you follow the full context of a discussion in one place. A typical day is a loop: scan what's new, decide quickly (reply, forward, tag, or archive), keep the related Odoo record up to date, and move on.

Why it matters

Quick, consistent decisions keep an inbox under control. Tags act as a lightweight worklist, folders keep the provider structure tidy, and linking an email to its Odoo record means the conversation is visible to your colleagues from the record itself — no copy-pasting.

Requirements

  • A connected, synced mailbox.
  • For linking emails to business records through a dedicated side panel: the relevant integration module installed (CRM, Helpdesk, Sales), which builds on Pro.
  • For AI drafting and summaries: Pro with an AI provider configured (see What MailDesk AI can and cannot access).

Permissions required

You work only in mailboxes you already have access to; standard Odoo access rules apply. Linking an email to an Odoo record requires the usual access to that record's model (for example, access to CRM leads to link a lead).

The scenario

Lena handles the shared [email protected] mailbox. It is mid-morning and 18 new messages have arrived overnight. Here is how she clears them.

1. Triage the inbox

  1. Lena opens MailDesk and selects the [email protected] mailbox; the Inbox is selected by default.
  2. She clicks the Unread filter chip to focus on what's new.
  3. She scans the list. Each row shows the sender, subject, date and time, a short preview, an unread dot, any tags, an attachment icon, and a star if set.

The inbox filtered to Unread, with colour-coded tags on each row so the most important messages stand out for triage

Decide fast

For each message, make one quick decision: reply now, tag it for later, forward it to the right person, or archive it. Good email hygiene starts with quick decisions.

2. Read a conversation

  1. Lena clicks the first unread message to open it. The full body loads, attachments become available, and the reply actions appear.
  2. Because MailDesk groups related emails into a conversation, she can read the whole back and forth in order without hunting for earlier replies.

The first open may take a moment

The first time a message is opened, MailDesk fetches and caches its body, so it opens instantly next time. This first open is also what makes the message's full body searchable (see Search, filters, and tags).

3. Reply (or reply all, or forward)

The first message is a simple question from a customer. Lena replies:

  1. With the message open, she clicks Reply to answer the sender, Reply All to answer everyone on the thread, or Forward to send it on to a colleague.
  2. She writes a short, clear answer and clicks Send.
Action Sends to Use when
Reply The original sender One-to-one answer (most common)
Reply All Everyone on the thread The whole group needs the update
Forward A new recipient Sharing information or asking someone else

Check Cc before Reply All

Reply All copies in everyone on the thread. Glance at the recipients first so an internal note doesn't reach the customer by mistake.

After sending, the reply appears in Sent straight away and the conversation updates automatically. If the customer answers, their reply joins the same conversation.

The next message is about an open quotation. Lena links it so the whole team sees the conversation from the order itself.

  1. She opens the email so the detail view (with its side-panel buttons) is shown.
  2. She opens the integration panel for the record type — for example the CRM panel — and uses Link Existing to attach the email to the right lead, or Create Lead/Opportunity to make a new one straight from the email.
  3. The email now appears in that record's chatter, giving everyone the full context.

Linking is done from the open email, not a right-click action

There is no "link to record" item on the message row's right-click menu in Basic. The core right-click menu can Create Contact, Open Contact, and Open Linked Document for a message. Linking emails to leads, tickets, quotations, or orders — and the record's communication panel showing those emails — comes from the matching integration module (CRM, Helpdesk, Sales, Chatter), shown as a panel in the open-email view. Install the ones your team uses.

5. Tag for follow-up, then archive

Some messages can't be finished right now. Lena tags them so they resurface later:

  1. She right-clicks a message and chooses Assign Tags….
  2. She applies the Waiting tag (or creates it on the spot) and clicks Apply.
  3. Once a message is fully handled, she selects it and clicks Archive to clear it from the Inbox while keeping it safe.

Later in the day she clicks the Waiting tag in the sidebar to bring back every email she's still waiting on, and follows up on each.

6. Handle several at once (bulk actions)

For routine clean-up, Lena selects several messages with the row checkboxes. A bulk action bar appears showing how many are selected, with one-click buttons to Archive, Delete, mark Read or Unread, Move to another folder, or Star them all together.

7. Compose something new

A message that starts a brand-new topic is a fresh Compose, not a reply:

  1. Click Compose.
  2. Enter recipients in To, and use Cc for people who should stay informed and Bcc for hidden recipients.
  3. Add a subject, write the message, and attach files by dragging them in or using the attachment button.
  4. Click Send. The email goes out through your configured outgoing server, appears in Sent immediately, and your provider's own copy replaces the local entry on the next sync — so you never see a duplicate sent email.

Reply continues a thread; Compose starts a new one

Use Reply / Reply All to keep a conversation together. Use Compose only when you genuinely mean to start a new conversation.

Drafts protect work in progress

If you close the composer or lose connection partway through, MailDesk can keep your text as a Draft so you can finish it later. If an email ever fails to send, check Drafts and your outgoing server — MailDesk does not silently drop mail.

A simple repeatable loop

Inbox  →  read  →  decide
                     ├─ reply / forward  →  Sent
                     ├─ tag (e.g. Waiting / To do)  →  follow up later
                     ├─ link to record  →  visible in chatter
                     └─ done?  →  archive or move

Keep folders minimal and let tags carry your workflow. Review your Waiting and To do tags once a day, and archive conversations once they're finished so the Inbox stays a list of things that still need you.

Expected result

  • The Inbox shrinks to a short list of items that genuinely need action.
  • Replies are in Sent, follow-ups are tagged and easy to find, and handled mail is archived or moved.
  • Linked emails are visible from the related Odoo record, so colleagues have full context.

Troubleshooting

Symptom Likely cause What to do
A sent email isn't where you expect Providers use different Sent folders Check which folder your provider files sent mail in; the local entry is replaced by the provider's copy on the next sync
New mail seems delayed MailDesk syncs on an automatic schedule Short delays are normal; the list refreshes after the next scheduled sync
A reply landed with the wrong people Reply All copied the whole thread Use Reply for one-to-one answers and check Cc before Reply All
Tagged follow-ups are hard to find The tag list has grown too large Keep a small, consistent set of tags and remove a tag once its task is done
Can't link an email to a lead/ticket/order The matching integration isn't installed Ask your administrator to install the relevant integration module