Add your email account

Gmail is email that's intuitive, efficient, and useful. 15 GB of storage, less spam, and mobile access.

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.

1. Apple OS X Mail keeps your email files in.mbox folders that you can find and open in Finder. You may never need to open those files, but it is good to know where Mac OS X Mail stores your emails in case you want to copy your mailboxes to a different computer or back them up.
2. We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Best Apps for Mac Best mail apps for Mac in 2019 If the stock Mail app on Mac doesn't work for you, there are plenty of alternatives.

• 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.
  

Mail For Mac Help

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.

Mail For Mac Office 365

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