Read, reply to and sort your email

Move between mailboxes and folders, search and filter messages, reply or forward, and archive, star, snooze, file or link a message to a customer's account.

In the sidebar, open Communications, then Email. The page address is /communications/email.

Steps

1. Under Mailboxes, expand a mailbox and choose a folder such as Inbox, Drafts or Sent. Unread counts show next to each folder. On a phone, tap Folders first.
2. Select a message in the list. It opens in the reading pane on the right.
3. To answer, select Reply or Forward below the thread. You can also use the reply arrow on any expanded message to answer that particular email. Reply all is also shown when other recipients are included. The original message stays readable above your reply. Expand reply gives you more writing space; Show original message brings the context back. The composer starts with your signature and the original quoted below your reply. To choose a different signature, select Signatures in the composer. Manage signatures in that list opens the editor; see Send an email from Nova.
4. To clear a conversation out of the folder, use Archive conversation or Move conversation to Deleted Items in the reading toolbar. These act on the conversation across folders, including sent replies, while preserving drafts. In Messages view, the toolbar acts on that one message. Undo is available when Nova knows the original placement and your role permits restoring it.
5. Use More message actions on a sender row for Mark read, Mark unread, Star or Unstar. The reading pane's More actions menu keeps additional options under Selected message options, including Snooze…, Report junk and Link to account.
6. To file a message, choose Move, labels & actions in the More actions menu. Under Folder / labels, pick a folder in Move to folder and select Move, or pick a label in Add label and select Apply. You can also drag the message onto a folder in the left pane.

What you see

• Choose Messages to list and open individual emails, or Threads to group matching emails and open their complete conversations, including replies in Sent. View thread opens the conversation from an individual email; Back to message returns to that email. Drafts stay separate. Choices are remembered for your account and workspace on this device. Folder and unread filters work in both views.

• A thread has one subject, then sender rows from oldest to newest. The latest and unread messages open initially. Click anywhere on a sender row to expand or collapse its message; links and detail buttons keep their own actions. Individual emails in Messages stay open. Expand all messages and Collapse all messages act on the thread. A numbered Earlier messages button unfolds older rows, and Load earlier messages fetches further history. New replies appear immediately without moving your reading position. The bottom reply buttons answer the newest message regardless of display order. Each expanded row has a reply arrow and every row has its own three-dot menu. More actions in the reading pane offers Messages in this thread: Newest first or Oldest first. This changes only the opened thread; the inbox list always shows newest messages first. Message list options changes row density between compact and comfortable.

• Hover over a known sender's name or avatar to preview their Nova contact. Both open the same record, and the same avatar appears on every message. The full email address remains available in the recipient menu. Unknown senders show their address beside their name.

• Each message has More message actions. Its reply, forward, star, read/unread, print, new-window and delete actions target only that message. Reply all appears when there are additional recipients. Deleted messages offer Restore this message and Delete permanently when your role allows them. Permanent deletion requires confirmation.

• Select the recipient line below a sender to open Message details. From, To, Cc, date, subject and mailbox come first. Bcc appears only when available to you. Technical details holds identifiers and provider information; Message headers expands the stored headers when available. Copy details copies the everyday fields. Close the panel with its close button or Escape.

• The printer icon prints the individual message in Messages, or every email in the opened thread. Your browser opens the print dialog in a new tab; allow pop-ups for Nova if prompted.

• Long quoted replies fold behind a small three-dot button below the message. Short quotes stay visible.

• Check messages to show selection actions in the existing header. On a computer, clicking a row still opens it; Shift-click a checkbox to select a range. On a phone, press and hold to start selecting. You can mark read or unread, archive, report junk, move, or Delete. For received and sent mail, Delete moves messages to Deleted Items. Selecting a thread acts on its matching messages in the current folder; its displayed conversation count can also include replies in other folders. Search selection acts on the matching message represented by the result. Restore and Delete forever appear only there; Empty Deleted Items in Message list options removes everything in that folder after confirmation.

• A message with no downloadable attachments has no attachments section. Signature logos displayed inside the email do not create an empty attachment bar.

• Open an attachment and use Previous file or Next file to view other attachments without closing the preview. The file counter shows your position; the keyboard's left and right arrows also move between files when you are not using a media control.

• An email attached to a message opens as a readable copy showing who sent it, to whom, when, the subject and its text; nothing inside it runs or loads. Download saves the original email.

• The message list header has Filter messages, which switches between All and Unread, and Search mail, which opens a search box for the current folder (This folder) or every folder (All folders). The Message list options menu beside it limits the list to Has attachment or Flagged (starred) messages.

• While the list refreshes, a small spinner turns in the list header; during a search it turns inside the search box instead.

• Changing a filter shows a small progress indicator while keeping your current results and open email readable. Filter buttons pause until the update finishes, so clicking again cannot repeat the change. Search stays editable and uses your latest text; enter at least two characters. If an update fails, you can keep reading the previous results and select Retry. Density choices update immediately without loading messages again.

• Pointing at a message in the list shows a star, a read button and More message actions, which offers Mark as read, Archive, Report junk and Move to trash without opening it.

• Ordinary archive, move, trash and junk actions happen immediately with Undo when Nova can restore the original placement and your role permits it. Deleting drafts, deleting permanently, and emptying Deleted Items require confirmation. In the junk folder you get Not junk instead (Mark as not junk in the list), and in the trash Restore and Delete permanently.

• Press ?, or choose Keyboard shortcuts from the Message list options menu, to see the shortcuts: j and k move between messages, c composes, r replies, a replies to all, f forwards, e archives, # trashes, u toggles read, l stars, s snoozes until tomorrow, and / jumps to search.

• Messages and drafts update automatically when Outlook or another connected email app changes them. Nova checks again when you return to the page or reconnect, and while the mailbox is open. Provider delivery can take a little time; Nova keeps them current for you. Check for new mail in Mailbox settings checks the mailbox sooner and refreshes your list. Updates happen automatically while you work.

• An unread message becomes read after its loaded contents remain visible briefly. Marking it unread while it is open keeps it unread for that visit. A message remains open if it disappears from the Unread filter.

• The read action uses an open envelope for Mark as read and a closed envelope for Mark as unread. Each button also names its action.

• A Draft reply in a thread offers Edit draft and Delete draft. Delete asks for confirmation and removes only that draft. Discard removes the draft from the connected mailbox and Nova without keeping a recovery copy. Sent and discarded replies do not show as waiting drafts.

If something looks different

• The list reads No mailbox selected: expand a mailbox on the left and choose a folder.
• The list reads No matches: your search found nothing in this folder. Switch the search to All folders, or try a different word.
• A notice at the top says the inbox needs reconnecting, is disconnected or is suspended by the provider: Nova cannot reach the mailbox. You can still read, search and open attachments that were already downloaded, but reply, forward, move, delete, mark read or unread, folder changes and new attachment downloads are greyed out with the reason until someone reconnects it. If you can fix it, the notice has a button that takes you to the inbox's card under Email Accounts; otherwise it reads Ask an admin to fix this inbox. See Fix an inbox that stopped syncing.
• A notice at the top says Nova stopped syncing the mailbox: new mail is not arriving, but you can still reply, send and sort what is already here. The notice says how far mail is current. Someone with permission presses Try again on the inbox's card under Email Accounts (Fix an inbox that stopped syncing).
• An attachment says it is an Outlook item Nova can't open: it is a calendar event or contact saved inside the email. Open the email in Outlook to see it.
• A notice reads Rate limit reached. Retry in a moment.: the mail provider asked Nova to slow down. Wait a minute and try again.
• Messages are paused with a note about folders: select Retry folders. Nova waits for the folder list so it never mixes Inbox, Drafts and Trash together.
• Reply or Forward is missing: your role does not permit that action. If the sending mailbox is loading, needs reconnecting, is disconnected, archived, or view-only, the button stays visible but disabled with an explanation. Close your current draft before starting another reply.

Open Email

• New replies, including your own sent reply, appear in the open thread automatically. A brief New message added to this thread notice announces arrivals without moving your reading position.
• Teammates viewing the same thread appear as avatars; typing is shown while they write. You do not see yourself in this group.
• A Replied or Forwarded icon beside a message records a confirmed action. Provider reply flags and matching sent replies are included when available; opening a reply draft does not mark an email as replied.