Add or remove email accounts in Mail on Mac. Use the Mail app to send, receive, and manage email for all of your email accounts in one location. Simply add the accounts—such as iCloud, Exchange, Google, school, work, or other—you want to use in Mail. Feb 28, 2009  Hi, I have an iMac running OS X v. 10.5.6 and do not want to go through the Mail app for my e-mail. I never opened the program on my own, but the app.

Add your email account

If you don't have an email account set up, Mail prompts you to add your email account.

To add another account, choose Mail > Add Account from the menu bar in Mail. Or choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Internet Accounts, then click the type of account to add.

• When adding an account, if you get a message that your account provider requires completing authentication in Safari, click Open Safari and follow the sign-in instructions in the Safari window.
• If necessary, Mail might ask you for additional settings.

Learn more about how to add or remove email accounts.

Send and reply

Learn how to compose, reply to, and forward email.

Send new messages

1. Click New Message in the Mail toolbar, or choose File > New Message.
2. Enter a name, email address, or group name in the 'To' field. Mail gives suggestions based on your contacts and messages on your Mac and devices signed into iCloud.¹
3. Enter a subject for your message.
4. Write your email in the body of the message.
   • To add an attachment, drag an attachment to the body of the message. Or choose File > Attach Files, choose an attachment, then click Choose.
   • To change your font and format, use the options at the top of the message window.
   • Beginning with macOS Mojave, it's even easier to add emoji to your messages. Just click the Emoji & Symbols button in the toolbar at the top of the message window, then choose emoji or other symbols from the character viewer.
5. Send or save your message:
   • To send, click the Send button or choose Message > Send.
   • To save your message as a draft for later, close the message, then click Save.

Reply and forward

• To reply to a single person, click Reply , type your response, then click Send .

• To reply to everyone on a group email, click Reply All , type your response, then click Send .

• To forward a message to other people, click Forward , type your response, then click Send .

Organize and search

Sort your emails into folders and use multiple search options to find specific messages.

Create folders

You can create Mailboxes to organize your emails into folders.

1. Open Mail, then choose Mailbox > New Mailbox from the menu bar.
2. In the dialog that appears, choose the location for the Mailbox.
   • Choose your email service (like iCloud) to access your Mailbox on your other devices, such as an iPhone signed into the same email account.
   • Choose On My Mac to access your Mailbox only on your Mac.
3. Name the mailbox and click OK.

If you don't see the mailboxes sidebar, choose View > Show Mailbox List. To show or hide mailboxes from an email account, move your pointer over a section in the sidebar and click Show or Hide.

Sort your emails

To move a message from your Inbox to a mailbox:

• Drag the message onto a mailbox in the sidebar.
• In macOS Mojave, you can select the message, then click Move in the Mail toolbar to file the message into the suggested mailbox. Mail makes mailbox suggestions based on where you've filed similar messages in the past, so suggestions get better the more you file your messages.
  

To delete a message, select a message, then press the Delete key.

To automatically move messages to specific mailboxes, use rules.

Search

Use the Search field in the Mail window to search by sender, subject, attachments, and more. To narrow your search, choose an option from the menu that appears as you type.

Add and mark up attachments

Attach documents and files to your messages and use Markup to annotate, add your signature, and more.

Attach a file

To attach a file to your message:

• Drag an attachment to the body of the message.
• Choose File > Attach Files, choose an attachment, then click Choose.

Use Markup with your attachments

You can use Markup to draw and type directly on an attachment, like an image or PDF document.²

1. Click the Attach button or choose File > Attach Files in the message window.
2. Choose an attachment, then click Choose File.
3. Click the menu icon that appears in the upper-right corner of the attachment, then choose Markup.
   • Use the Sketch tool to create freehand drawings.
   • Use the Shapes tool to add shapes like rectangles, ovals, lines, and arrows.
   • Use the Zoom tool in the Shapes menu to magnify and call attention to a part of an attachment.
   • Use the Text tool to add text.
   • Use the Sign tool to add your signature.
4. Click Done.

Learn more

• Contact Apple Support.

1. All devices signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID share contacts. Contacts addressed in previous messages that were sent and received on those devices are also included. To control this feature, turn Contacts on or off for iCloud. On Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click iCloud. On iOS devices, go to Settings, tap your name at the top of the screen, then tap iCloud.

2. Markup is available in OS X Yosemite and later.

The Mail app for Mac lets you use any email account you have without having to constantly go to that service's website. You can sync your Gmail accounts, Outlook accounts, carrier-specific accounts, school accounts, work accounts… You get the picture.

All you have to do is set things up. Here's how!

How to set up an email account

The first step to using the Mail app for Mac is to set up your email account so that you start receiving email in the Mail app.

1. Launch Mail from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click an email provider based on what type of email account you have. If you have an email address with a domain other than what's provided (like a school or work email address that's not based in any of the big providers), click Other Mail Account.
3. Click Continue.
4. Enter your email address and password.
5. Click the checkmark next to each app you'd like to use with this account.

6. Click Done.

If you have multiple email accounts, you can just repeat the process to see them all in the Mail app.

How to set how often Mail checks for new messages

Since the Mail app has to go and fetch your email from whichever service you use, you can set how often it checks for new messages.

1. Launch Mail from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click Mail in the menu bar on the top left of your screen.
3. Click Preferences.
4. Click the General tab if you're not already there.
5. Click the dropdown menu next to Check for new messages.

6. Click a frequency. You can have it check as much as every minute or as infrequently as every hour. You can also choose to check only manually.

How to select Mail notification sounds

You can choose which sound alerts you to new email.

1. Launch Mail from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click Mail in the menu bar in the upper left corner of your screen.
3. Click Preferences.
4. Click the General tab if you're not already there.
5. Click the dropdown menu next to New messages sound.

6. Click the sound you'd like to hear when a new message arrives. Each time you click a sound, it'll play a preview.

How to add a signature

Your email signature is what appears beneath the body of your email in every single message you send: If you customize yours, you'll never need to type your name at the end of an email again.

1. Launch Mail from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click Mail in the menu bar on the top left of your screen.
3. Click Preferences.

4. Click the Signatures tab.

5. Click the account to which you'd like to add a signature.
6. Click the + button on the lower center of the window.
7. Type your signature in the window on the far right. It can be whatever you like.
8. Click the center window to change the name of your signature.
9. Click the dropdown menu next to Choose signature.

10. Click an option:

    • None
    • The signature you've just created
    • At Random

    • In Sequential Order

How to send a new email

1. Launch Mail from the Dock or from Finder.
2. Click the Compose button.
3. Enter the email address of the person to whom you'd like to send a message. You can enter multiple email addresses.
4. Enter a Subject for your email.
5. Type the body of your email.

6. Click the Send button. It looks like a paper airplane on the top left of the message window.

How to reply to an email

If you've received an email, you likely want to answer it. Here's how to reply:

1. Launch Mail from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click the email to which you'd like to respond.
3. Click the Reply button, which looks like a single curved arrow. If there are multiple recipients of the email, you can also choose to reply to all of them but click the Reply All button, which looks like two curved arrows. You can also forward the email if you want to share it with other people by clicking the Forward button, which is a right-pointing arrow next to the reply buttons.

4. Write and send the email.

How to view and download email attachments

Half the fun of sending and receiving email is getting photos and videos, especially those that are too large to send via iMessage. Oftentimes, a photo will appear right in the email, but you can download them as well.

1. Launch Mail from the Dock or Finder.
2. Open the email that contains the attachment you want to download.
3. Double-click a document in the body of the email to view it. Photos usually appear in the body of the email.
4. Mouse over the white area next to To and From and all of that information.
5. Click the downward arrow next to the number on the little menu that pops up.
6. Click the name of the attachment file.

7. Click Save after choosing the save location and titling the file the way you want it.

How to search for specific email messages

1. Launch the Mail app from your dock or Finder.
2. Click the search bar on the top right of the window.
3. Type your search query. It can be an email address, subject, name, or even just specific words from an email.

4. Optionally click a search option in the drop-down that appears.

5. Optionally click a folder to search. You can search specific folders or just search All.

6. Click the email message you'd like to open.

macOS High Sierra will introduce the Top Hits feature, which is powered by Spotlight and puts the email messages that are most relevant to your search at the top of the list. Top Hits bases its results on things like the email you've read, your VIP contacts, the people you reply to, and more.

How to filter email by Unread

If you receive a ton of email, it can be hard to keep track of which ones you've read and which ones you haven't. But it doesn't have to be; you can filter your email by Unread.

1. Launch Mail from the Dock of Finder.
2. Click View in the menu bar on the top left of your screen.
3. Click Sort By.

4. Click Unread.

Alternatively, you can click on the filter button next to Sort By above the top of the inbox section. By default, it will only show you unread emails.

How to mark an email as Unread

If you'd like to revisit an email but don't want it to get lost among the others, you can mark it as unread so that it appears at the top of your inbox.

1. Launch Mail from the Dock or Finder.
2. Right-click on the email you'd like to mark as Unread.

3. Click Mark as Unread.

Alternatively, if you have a Magic Mouse, you can swipe right on the email and click Unread, just like on iPhone or iPad.

How to delete an email

After a while, your inbox can get to be pretty full. Delete some of the stuff you don't need anymore!

1. Launch Mail from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click the email you would like to delete. If you would like to delete multiple messages, you can click one, hold shift and click another. All messages between each clicked message will be selected. If you do not want to delete many messages in a row, you can hold command as you click.

3. Click the Delete button at the top of the window. It's the trash can.

You can alternatively right-click on your inbox and click delete, or, if you have a Magic Mouse, you can swipe left and click the trash can.

Questions?

Have a question about setting up and using the Mail app for Mac? Let us know in the comments below!

Need some help with the Mail app for iPhone? Check this out:

macOS Catalina

Main

Reset Mail App On Mac

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

Do You Use The Mail App On Mac Computer

Google faces privacy lawsuit over tracking users in apps without consent

Can't Open Mail On Mac

Law firm Boies Schiller Flexner has filed another lawsuit against Google. This time, the law firm has accused Google of tracking users in apps even after opting out.