📄 Introduction
Sign in

Introduction to MailDesk

Welcome to MailDesk — a professional email client built directly into Odoo.

MailDesk allows you to read, send, and organize emails from multiple mail accounts in one place, without switching between external email tools and Odoo.


What is MailDesk?

MailDesk is not just another inbox.

It is an email workspace designed for daily business communication inside Odoo.

With MailDesk you can:

  • connect multiple email accounts (Gmail, Outlook, IMAP)

  • manage emails in folders and conversations

  • work with emails alongside your Odoo data

  • keep communication centralized and structured

Typical use cases:

  • personal business mailbox

  • shared team inboxes

  • support or sales email addresses

  • multiple accounts in one interface


What MailDesk is not ❌

To avoid confusion, it’s important to understand what MailDesk does not replace:

❌ It is not Odoo Chatter
❌ It is not a ticketing system
❌ It is not a CRM pipeline

MailDesk focuses on real email communication with external recipients — customers, partners, suppliers.


Understanding the interface

MailDesk is built around a familiar email layout:

Folder sidebar (left)

  • Inbox

  • Sent

  • Drafts

  • Trash

  • Provider-specific folders or labels

This reflects the structure of your email provider.

Message list (center)

  • Sender and subject

  • Date and time

  • Preview of the message

  • Status indicators (unread, starred, attachments)

This view helps you scan emails quickly.

Message detail (right)

  • Full email content

  • Attachments

  • Reply, Reply all, Forward actions

The message body loads when you open an email.


How email syncing works (important)

MailDesk syncs emails in the background.

Here is the correct mental model:

  • Sync runs periodically (for example every few minutes)

  • New emails appear shortly after they arrive at your provider

  • Full email bodies are loaded when you open a message

  • Opened messages are cached for faster access later

This means:

  • MailDesk is near real-time, not instant push

  • Short delays are normal and expected


Sending emails — what to expect

When you send an email from MailDesk:

1️⃣ The email is sent immediately via your outgoing server
2️⃣ It appears in Sent instantly
3️⃣ Your email provider later saves its own copy
4️⃣ The next sync replaces the local entry seamlessly

This behavior is normal and avoids duplicate messages.

Conversations & threading

MailDesk groups related emails into conversations using email headers.

✔ Replies stay together
✔ Forwarded messages remain connected
✔ Works reliably across providers

This makes following longer discussions much easier.


Who MailDesk is designed for

MailDesk is ideal for:

  • Teams working primarily inside Odoo

  • Users managing multiple mailboxes

  • Companies that want email + business context in one system

  • Privacy-focused setups where email stays inside the Odoo environment


Security at a glance

Depending on the provider, MailDesk uses:

  • OAuth 2.0 (Gmail, Outlook) — no password storage

  • Encrypted credentials (IMAP)

You stay in control and can revoke access at any time.
More details are available in Security & privacy.


What’s next?

Now that you understand what MailDesk is and how it works:

→ Go to Getting started with MailDesk
→ Connect your first email account
→ Send and receive a test email


Tip:

Start with one mailbox, verify that everything works as expected, and only then add additional accounts.