MTS Email Client — User Guide

Version: 1.1.0 Last Updated: 2026-07-05

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What's New in 1.1.0

Version 1.1.0 makes the inbox dramatically faster and more reliable. Most of the change is behind the scenes — you don't have to do anything differently — but a few things are worth knowing:

• The inbox is now instant. Opening a mailbox, changing pages, switching tabs and searching are served from a fast local copy of your message list, so they respond in a blink instead of waiting on the mail server each time.
• New mail appears automatically. A background process keeps your inbox up to date. If you want to pull new mail right now, use the Refresh button.
• Search is instant and covers your indexed mail.
• Reopening a message you've already read is instant (no reloading from the server).
• Nothing is missed. Older messages and deep pages are always reachable; if the local copy can't answer, the inbox quietly falls back to the mail server.
• More reliable connections. Accounts that previously failed to connect on newer PHP versions now work, and an account that can't be reached fails quickly with a clear message instead of freezing the inbox.

See Speed & Syncing for details.

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Table of Contents

1. Getting Started
2. The Inbox Interface
3. Reading Emails
4. Composing Emails
5. Replying and Forwarding
6. Managing Folders
7. Starring and Organizing Emails
8. Searching Email
9. Speed & Syncing
10. CRM Integration
11. Quick Create Records from Email
12. Drafts
13. Keyboard Tips

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Getting Started

Opening the Inbox

Navigate to your inbox at:

index.php?module=Emails&action=inbox

Or click the Emails menu item in your SuiteCRM navigation bar — the modern inbox will load automatically.

Selecting an Email Account

If you have multiple email accounts configured, use the account selector dropdown at the top of the left sidebar to switch between them.

If no accounts appear, ask your administrator to set up an inbound email account for you.

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The Inbox Interface

The MTS Email Client uses a 3-panel layout:

┌─────────────┬────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┐
│   SIDEBAR   │      EMAIL LIST        │         EMAIL READER          │
│             │                        │                               │
│  [Compose]  │  ● Search bar          │  From / To / Date / Subject   │
│             │  ● Tabs: All | Unread  │                               │
│  Inbox (3)  │  ─────────────────     │  Email body                   │
│  Starred    │  ● Email row 1         │                               │
│  Sent       │  ● Email row 2         │  Attachments                  │
│  Drafts     │  ● Email row 3         │                               │
│  Trash      │  ─────────────────     │  [Reply] [Reply All]          │
│  Archive    │  ← Page 1/5 →          │  [Forward] [Import] [Delete]  │
│  Spam       │                        │                               │
│  ─────────  │                        │                               │
│  [Folders]  │                        │                               │
└─────────────┴────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┘

Sidebar Panels

Item	Description
Compose	Open a new compose window
Inbox	Your main inbox with unread count badge
Starred	Emails you have flagged with a star
Sent	Emails sent via the mail server
Sent (CRM)	Emails sent via SuiteCRM
Drafts	Saved unsent emails
Trash	Deleted emails
Archive	Archived emails
Spam	Junk/spam folder
More Folders	Expand to show custom IMAP folders

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Reading Emails

1. Click any email row in the Email List panel.
2. The email content loads in the Email Reader panel on the right.
3. Email details displayed include:
   • From, To, Cc, Bcc
   • Date, Subject
   • Priority (if set)
   • Read Receipt / Delivery Receipt indicators
   • Attachments with download links
4. Inline images are displayed automatically.
5. Opening an unread email marks it as read automatically.

Mark as Unread

To mark a read email as unread again, click the Unread button in the email reader toolbar.

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Composing Emails

Opening the Compose Window

Click the Compose button in the left sidebar. A floating compose modal will appear.

Compose Modal Features

Recipients

• To — Required. Type a name or email address; autocomplete will suggest CRM contacts.
• Cc — Copy recipients. Click Cc to expand this field.
• Bcc — Blind copy recipients. Click Bcc to expand this field.

To add a recipient: type and press Enter or Tab, or select from the autocomplete dropdown. To remove a recipient: click the × on the recipient chip.

From Account

Use the From dropdown to select which outbound email account to send from. If you have a signature set up for the selected account, it will be inserted automatically.

Subject

Type your email subject in the Subject field.

Priority

Use the Priority dropdown to set message priority: - High - Normal (default) - Low

Message Body

The message body uses a rich TinyMCE HTML editor by default. Toggle Plain Text mode using the option checkbox if you prefer plain text.

Templates

Click Template to browse and select an email template. The selected template will populate the subject and body fields.

Related To

Use the Related To selector to associate this email with a CRM record (e.g., an Account, Contact, or Case). This links the sent email to that record's history.

1. Select the module from the dropdown.
2. Type to search for the record.
3. Click to select.

Options

Option	Description
Read Receipt	Request a read confirmation from the recipient
Delivery Receipt	Request a delivery confirmation
Plain Text	Switch the editor to plain text mode

Attachments

Click Attach File to upload one or more file attachments. Files are uploaded immediately and listed below the editor.

Sending

Click Send to send the email immediately. Click Save Draft to save without sending (see Drafts). Click the × or Discard to close and discard the email.

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Replying and Forwarding

With an email open in the reader panel:

Button	Action
Reply	Opens compose modal pre-filled with a reply to the sender only
Reply All	Opens compose modal pre-filled with a reply to all recipients
Forward	Opens compose modal pre-filled with the forwarded message body

The reply/forward compose modal pre-fills: - To field (sender or all recipients) - Subject with Re: or Fwd: prefix - Body with quoted original email content (sender, date, original text)

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Managing Folders

Navigating Folders

Click any folder in the sidebar to view its emails. Custom IMAP folders are nested under the appropriate parent folder.

Expanding Custom Folders

Click More Folders at the bottom of the sidebar folder list to expand and see all IMAP sub-folders.

Refreshing the Folder List

Click the Refresh Folders icon (↺) next to the folder list heading to reload the IMAP folder tree from the server.

Deleting Emails (Move to Trash)

With an email open, click Delete. The email will be moved to the Trash folder. You will be asked to confirm before the email is moved.

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Starring and Organizing Emails

Star an Email

Click the Star (☆) icon in an email row or in the reader panel toolbar to star it. Starred emails appear in the Starred folder.

Unstar an Email

Click the star icon again to remove the star.

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Searching Email

Use the Search bar at the top of the email list panel to search within the currently selected folder.

• Type your search query and press Enter.
• The email list will filter to show matching results — instantly, from the local index.
• Clear the search field to return to the full folder view.

Search covers the messages that have been indexed for the current mailbox. Large mailboxes are indexed progressively in the background; if a search needs older messages that aren't indexed yet, the inbox falls back to searching the server.

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Speed & Syncing

Version 1.1.0 keeps a fast local copy (an "index") of your message headers so the inbox responds instantly. Here's what that means day to day.

Why the inbox is fast

• Browsing, paging, switching tabs (All / Unread / Starred) and searching are served from the local index in milliseconds — no waiting on the mail server.
• The message list, the read/unread state and stars all stay in sync with the server.

How new mail appears

• A background job checks your accounts periodically and updates the index, so new mail shows up on its own within a few minutes.
• Even without waiting, when you open a mailbox the inbox will quietly refresh in the background if its local copy is a little old — new mail then pops in automatically.
• To pull new mail right now, click the Refresh button (↻) next to the search box. This always fetches the latest directly from the server.

First open of a mailbox

• The very first time you open a particular mailbox, the inbox builds its local copy from the server, which can take a few seconds. After that, it's instant.

If an account can't connect

• If a mail account can't be reached (wrong password, server down, etc.), that account shows a clear error and the inbox does not freeze — you can switch to another account using the account selector. Other accounts are unaffected.
• If you keep seeing a connection error for one account, ask your administrator to check that account's settings.

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CRM Integration

MTS Email Client integrates tightly with SuiteCRM records.

Import Email to CRM

Import an email as an Email record in SuiteCRM:

1. Open the email in the reader panel.
2. Click Import to CRM.
3. The email is saved as a CRM Email record and marked with an Imported badge.

If the email has already been imported, the button will be disabled and an "Already Imported" indicator is shown.

Link Email to a CRM Record

Associate an email with any CRM record (Account, Contact, Opportunity, etc.):

1. Open the email in the reader panel.
2. Click Link Record.
3. Select the Module (e.g., Contacts).
4. Type to search for the record.
5. Click to select — the email is linked to that record's history panel.

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Quick Create Records from Email

Create a new CRM record directly from an email (e.g., create a Case from a support request):

1. Open the email in the reader panel.
2. Click the Create Related button (or the dropdown arrow next to it).
3. Select the record type to create:

Option	Creates
Create Contact	New Contact record
Create Lead	New Lead record
Create Case	New Case record
Create Bug	New Bug report
Create Opportunity	New Opportunity
Create Call	New Call record
Create Meeting	New Meeting record
Create Task	New Task record

4. A quick-create form opens pre-filled with information from the email (name, email address, subject, etc.).
5. Fill in any additional fields and save.
6. A success notification appears with a link to view the newly created record.

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Drafts

Saving a Draft

While composing, click Save Draft to save the email without sending. It will appear in the Drafts folder.

Editing a Draft

1. Navigate to the Drafts folder.
2. Click the draft email to open it.
3. The email opens in the compose modal, ready to edit.
4. Click Send to send, or Save Draft to update the saved draft.

Discarding a Draft

When editing a draft, click Discard Draft to permanently delete it. You will be asked to confirm.

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Compose Modal on CRM Pages

When viewing a CRM record (Contact, Account, Lead, etc.) you will see a Compose Email button. Clicking it opens the MTS floating compose modal — pre-linked to the record.

This feature can be enabled or disabled per-module by your administrator.

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Keyboard Tips

Action	Shortcut / Tip
Add recipient	Type email/name, press Enter or Tab
Remove recipient chip	Click the × on the chip
Send email	Click Send button
Close compose	Click × in the modal title bar
Minimize compose	Click – in the modal title bar

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For technical issues or account configuration, contact your SuiteCRM Administrator.