Navigating and Searching Messages¶

This page documents the message list — the panel that fills the main window and shows the messages in the current folder. It covers how the list is organized, how to move through and open messages, the actions available on a selection, and how the search box filters what you see.

How the list is organized¶

The message list is a tree view. Two independent settings under View ▸ Message List decide how it renders — see Look and layout:

Both are mailbox-wide: they apply to every folder, not just the current one.

In multi-column layout the available columns are Date, From, Recipients, Size, Subject, and Files. Two more appear where they apply: Folder, when a search spans more than one folder, so you can see where each result lives; and Status, in the Outbox.

A signed message carries a seal at the end of its subject, in either layout, coloured as in the reader pane: green when its signature verifies, red when it does not, grey until it is verified. See Signing Messages.

Sorting¶

In multi-column layout, click a column header to sort by that column; click again to reverse the order. The date and size columns resize to their contents when you sort by them.

Simple View has no header, so it carries a Sort By: control above the list instead. The two stay in step: whichever you use, the other reflects it, and the choice is saved.

Sorting on text columns follows the language your mailbox was set up in, so accented and language-specific letters land where a reader of that language would expect them.

Moving through the list¶

Standard list navigation applies, with a few message-specific behaviours:

Selection always operates on whole rows, and you can select several messages at once to act on them together.

Where the selection goes after a change¶

When the list reloads — after you delete, move, or receive messages, or when a background sync changes the folder — the view does its best to keep you on a sensible message rather than jumping to the top:

1. If the message you were on still exists, it stays selected.
2. If it was removed (deleted or moved away), the view selects the nearest surviving neighbour — the next message down, or the previous one if you were at the end.
3. Your previous multi-selection and scroll position are restored where possible.

This means you can delete or file a run of messages without losing your place in the list.

Opening a message¶

How a message opens depends on the folder and the modifier keys:

Acting on a selection¶

Right-click (or press the menu key) to open the context menu. The menu adapts to the current folder and selection; entries that do not apply are hidden.

Reply, forward, and re-use¶

Shown everywhere except Drafts, where Edit Draft takes their place:

Open, organize, and flag¶

You can also drag a selection from the list onto a folder to move it; hold Shift to copy instead. Dragging out is disabled in Junk, the Outbox, and Apps.

A move, a copy or a delete can be taken back: Message ▸ Undo (Ctrl+Z) puts the messages in the folder they came from, or removes the copies a copy made. The read, junk and flag entries above can be taken back the same way, each message returning to the state it had. See Undo and redo.

Outbox: retrying and cancelling¶

The Outbox adds a Status column, and messages waiting to send expose extra controls:

• Delayed sends show when they are due — Delayed until 14:30, …tomorrow, or with a full date further out. Their context menu offers Cancel Send, which appears at the top of the menu so you can stop a message before its scheduled time. Cancel Send puts the message back in Drafts. A signed message comes back as an unsigned draft, and its signed copy moves to Trash.
• Failed sends show a clickable status; clicking the Status cell pops up a Retry send entry, and the context menu carries Retry Send as well. Either one re-queues the message.

The Status column reads:

Too big and Quota exceeded are not retried automatically: the remedy is yours, and the Retry Send entry is offered on both. The column is sized to its contents, so the longest status is always fully readable.

Searching¶

The search box lives at the right-hand end of the toolbar. It starts collapsed to a single button — click that, or press Ctrl+K, to expand it. The magnifier inside the box collapses it again, as does Ctrl+K while the box has focus.

The box filters the message list live as you type.

Search scope¶

The control at the trailing edge of the search box opens a row of scope toggles beneath the toolbar. They can be combined, and their defaults are:

Search is per folder¶

Each folder remembers its own search state. Searching in one folder and switching to another leaves the first folder's query intact; returning to it restores what you had typed and which scope toggles were active. Clearing the box returns the folder to its normal view.

Junk folder¶

The Junk folder applies its own spam-score filtering on top of any search. Searching with All Folders off keeps trash excluded; turning All Folders on widens the result set accordingly.

Keyboard shortcuts¶

Icon reference¶

Icons used around the message list and its actions:

Function	Icon
Search
Search options
Reply / Reply to All / Forward
New Using… (edit as new)