Getting Around
The screen, the sidebar, your folders, the message list, and search.
Logging In
Open codamail.com/mail and enter your account name and password. Log in with your account name only, the part before the @ in your main address, not the full email address. No alias of any kind can be used to log in, so an address you handed out that later leaks is useless to anyone trying it against the login page.
If you have turned on a second factor, there is one more step after the password: a six-digit code from your authenticator app (TOTP two-factor) or a tap on a hardware key (security keys). Nothing in the mailbox is served until that step is complete.
After login the address bar shows a short random token in the path, like /mail/Ab3kX9pQ/. That token is part of how CodaMail stops other websites from forging requests into your session. It changes every login, so do not bookmark a URL that contains it. Bookmark codamail.com/mail/ instead.
Forgot your password? Recovery only works if you set it up in advance under Settings → Password Recovery: a security question, its answer, and a recovery email address outside CodaMail. Then, on the password recovery page, enter your account name; an email with your security question and a link that is valid for 15 minutes goes to the recovery address, and answering the question on that link lets you set a new password. Set it up now, while you can still log in.
The Sidebar
The narrow column on the far left is the app switcher. From top to bottom:
- Compose (the pencil): start a new message from anywhere.
- Mail: your folders and messages.
- Contacts: your address books and groups. See Contacts.
- Notes: a private notebook of Markdown, HTML and plain-text notes plus visual canvas boards, in nested folders, that also stores images, PDFs, audio and video alongside the notes and syncs to Obsidian and other apps over WebDAV. See Using Notes.
- Notebook: end-to-end encrypted notebooks, to-dos and tags that sync with the Joplin app on desktop and phone, since Notebook uses the same open sync format. Encryption happens in your browser or in the app, never on the server. See CodaMail Notebook.
- Calendar: your calendars, holidays, and subscriptions. See Using the Calendar.
- Tasks: to-do lists with due dates. See Using Tasks.
- Notices: current service notices, the same ones published on the Notices page.
- Settings: preferences, folders, identities, and every account tool. See The Settings Pages.
- Dark mode: toggles between light and dark. The browser remembers your choice.
- Logout: ends the session. Always log out on a shared computer.
You do not have to keep icons you never use. The Notes, Notebook, Calendar, Tasks and Notices icons each have a checkbox under Settings → Preferences → User Interface. Hiding an icon only hides it; the data stays where it was.
The Mail Screen
On a desktop, Mail is laid out in three columns: your folders on the left, the message list in the middle, and the open message on the right. The layout setting lets you move the preview below the list or turn it off entirely.
Folders
The folder column lists every folder you are subscribed to, with an unread count beside each one. The special folders are always there:
- Inbox: where new mail arrives, unless a filter or whitelist entry files it elsewhere.
- Drafts: unsent messages, saved automatically while you write.
- Sent: a copy of everything you send, unless you chose not to keep one.
- Spam: where the server's spam filter delivers mail it has rated as spam, before it ever reaches your Inbox. Check it occasionally for anything misrated. How strictly the server rates mail is yours to configure under Settings → Antispam Tools, including the score threshold and your own allow and deny lists; see Antispam Tools.
- Junk: where the Junk button puts a message you have judged to be junk yourself. This is the learning filter's folder: marking a message as junk, or as not junk, teaches it what you consider spam. It is separate from the Spam folder, which is filled by the server's own rating.
- Trash: deleted mail. Deleting from Trash removes it for good.
- Archive: where the Archive button files mail, optionally split by year, month or sender.
- Snoozed: appears the first time you snooze a message, and holds snoozed mail until it returns to its folder.
Above the folders are two more entries. Starred shows every starred message from every folder in one list. The Labels panel below it lists each label you have created and does the same for messages carrying that label. Both are searches across your whole mailbox, not folders, so nothing moves when you star or label something.
Right-click a folder (or use the three-dot menu at the top of the column) for Open in new window, Collapse all and Expand all; the Folder actions menu at the top of the column adds Compact, Empty, Mark all as read, Show folder size and Manage folders. Creating, renaming, nesting and deleting folders is covered in Using Folders.
The Message List
Each row shows the sender (or the recipient, in Sent and Drafts), the subject, the date, and the size. Unread messages are bold with a dot at the left. Icons on the row mark attachments, replies, forwards, priority, and labels. The star at the right end of the row (at the left on phones) marks the message as starred; click it to toggle.
Hover over a row on a desktop and small buttons appear at the right edge to star and to delete, so the two most common actions never need a toolbar trip.
The header of the list column holds:
- Select: select all, the current page, unread, flagged, invert, or none. Selection also works with the keyboard (Shift and Ctrl with clicks, or the arrow keys).
- Threads: switch between a flat list and conversation threads. In thread mode, replies nest under the original and the arrow at the left expands or collapses the thread. You can also set this per folder.
- Options: the sorting column and direction, the list mode, the layout, and which columns are shown. Sorting by arrival date keeps new mail at the top no matter what date the sender's computer claims.
- Refresh: check for new mail now, without waiting for the automatic refresh interval.
The number of rows per page is a preference (Mailbox View → Rows per page). Paging arrows are at the bottom of the list.
The Toolbar
With a message selected, the toolbar across the top of the list offers Reply, Reply all, Forward, Delete, Snooze, Archive, Kill Alias, Block, Junk / Not junk, Labels, Mark, and More. Each is explained in Reading Mail. The same actions are on the right-click menu of any row, and on a long press on a touch screen.
Search
The search box at the top of the message list searches the current folder as you type. Click the arrow beside it to open the search options:
- Where to look: Subject, Sender (From, Reply-To, Followup-To), Recipient (To, Cc, Bcc), Body, or the entire message. Tick several at once.
- Type: all, unread, flagged (starred), unanswered, deleted, not deleted, with attachment, a priority level, or a label.
- Date: younger or older than a week, a month, or a year.
- Scope: the current folder, this folder and its subfolders, or all folders.
Searching all folders for a label or for flagged messages is exactly what the Starred and Labels entries in the folder column do for you with one click.
The Contacts screen has its own search box and an Advanced Search form for searching by any contact field.
Making It Look the Way You Want
All of the appearance settings live together under Settings → Preferences → User Interface:
- Layout: three columns, preview below the list, or list only. Details.
- Color Scheme: dozens of palettes, including a Terminal theme. Details.
- List density and Toolbar size: Normal, Cozy or Compact, independently. Details.
- Language: the whole interface in any of more than 80 languages. Details.
Dark mode is separate from the color scheme. The sidebar toggle flips it instantly and every color scheme has a dark variant.
On a Phone or Tablet
The same webmail adapts to small screens. There is nothing to install.
- On a phone you see one column at a time: folders, then the list, then the message. The Back arrow at the top left steps back a column, and the menu button opens the sidebar.
- The toolbar collapses into a Menu button at the top right of each column; everything is still there.
- The star sits at the left of each row next to the unread dot, so you can star with a thumb.
- Long-press a message to open the same menu a right-click gives you on a desktop: reply, forward, move, label, snooze, block, and the rest.
- Swipe gestures are not used; everything is a tap, so nothing happens by accident.
- Tablets in landscape get the two-column view: list on the left, message on the right.
PDF attachments open in a viewer inside the webmail on a phone or tablet, so you do not need a separate app to read them.
Sessions and Logging Out
A session ends when you click Logout, when you close every tab and come back later, or after a period of inactivity. Two preferences run on logout: Clear Trash on logout and Compact Inbox on logout (Server Settings). Both are off unless you turn them on.
If you want to see where your account was last used, turn on Show last session information (User Interface). A short notice after login then shows the date and IP address of the previous session, and the Last login page in Settings keeps the last ten logins for five days.
Next: Reading Mail, including why messages open as plain text and how to see the HTML version.