Where to start
Open a record → EmailsBefore you start
- System emails such as quotes, invoices and POs use the SlabOS mailing engine by default; you do not need to connect Gmail or Outlook to use those sending controls. To send system emails through your own connected mailbox, enable Send system emails as me. Connecting alone does not switch their delivery.
- Syncing personal mailbox conversations and sending replies from that mailbox require its active connection and the applicable access. Those mailbox actions are separate from system-email delivery.
- Moving a conversation's SlabOS association is different from forwarding or sending an email.
1Find your email connection
Open Settings → Profile and find Email Connection. Connect Gmail or Connect Outlook starts that provider's sign-in and permission flow for your own mailbox. The provider's screen is separate from SlabOS. A disabled connection button means that provider is not configured for use on the server.
After returning, check the mailbox address and its written status. Connected means active; Disconnected — reconnect, Revoked or Error needs attention. Reconnect starts sign-in again. Read any error beside the connection rather than assuming an address on the screen means syncing is working.
2Choose the sync window
Choose 30, 90, 120 or 365 days beside the connection. The window controls how far back SlabOS scans; changing it restarts the backfill. Only CRM-related conversations are stored, so the number scanned is not the number attached to this project.
Use Sync to request another sync and watch the backfill, processing or last-synced status. A sync request is not proof that every conversation has already finished processing. Check the relevant record afterwards.
3Choose how system emails are sent
Leave Send system emails as me off to use the SlabOS mailing engine for system sends such as quotes, invoices, receipts and purchase orders. A connected Gmail or Outlook account alone does not switch those sends.
Enable Send system emails as me on the connected mailbox when you want system sends on your behalf to use that mailbox. Direct New email, Compose and Send reply actions in conversation panels use an active connected mailbox and are separate from this system-email preference.
4Set your email privacy
Under My email privacy, review both visibility and reply scope. Follow the company inherits the company policy. Only me (+ owners) tightens access; Only me (not even owners), where offered, also excludes other owners and administrators from your personal conversations.
Your choices can restrict the company policy further, not make it more permissive. A disabled reply selector can mean the company already limits replies. System-captured business emails are separate records, so personal mailbox privacy does not make every invoice or purchase-order email private.
5Save your signature
Enter the signature you want SlabOS to append to mailbox messages and choose Save signature. Do not assume Gmail or Outlook will add its own signature to mail sent through SlabOS.
Import from Gmail is available for an active Gmail connection. Review the imported result. Copy for Outlook copies your signature so you can paste it into Outlook's own signature settings; it does not update Outlook automatically.
6Check the system send log
Expand Emails SlabOS sent in the same settings card. It lists tracked company sends with Sent, Type, To, Subject and Opened columns. Filter by type when looking for an invoice, quote, receipt or reminder.
Opened means the recipient's mail app loaded the tracking image; it is not proof that a person read or accepted the message. Not yet does not prove non-delivery, because some mail apps block tracking. Follow a linked subject to its quote or job where available.
7Inspect the conversation
Open Emails on a record, or Customer Emails on a quote. Expand a thread or choose its subject tab. Check the participants, subject and message content before deciding whether it belongs to this project.
Sent messages use blue accents and received messages use green accents. Expand individual message headers to read older messages; the last message normally opens first. An attachment icon indicates files, while an OPENED badge on a sent message reports tracked opening activity.
8Separate customer mail from project mail
On a quote, Include customer conversations not linked to a project adds account-level conversations. These tabs are marked Customer only. A builder can have several jobs, so customer-level mail is not automatically a confirmed match to the quote you are viewing.
Read the message and compare its quote number, site address or project details. If it belongs here, move it to this quote explicitly. Turn the checkbox off to return to directly linked conversations.
9Search the available emails
Enter a phrase in Search these emails by meaning and press Enter or choose Search. Results can match exact text or meaning; a meaning badge and explanation identify a semantic match. Read the underlying message before relying on the result.
In the quote Customer Emails card, selecting a result selects its conversation. In the simpler Emails panel, results are snippets to help identify the conversation to open. Clear closes results, and Escape clears the search. Search only covers conversations available for that record and your access.
10Use summaries as a reading aid
Choose AI summary, or AI summary + key points on a quote, where available. A saved summary may already be visible. Compare its key points with the original messages, especially dimensions, materials, prices and dates.
A summary does not update the drawing, change the quote or send a reply. If AI is unavailable, continue reading the messages directly.
11Review quote request audits
In a quote's Customer Emails card, Audit requests vs quote compares customer requests with the quote contents. Review the check time, summary and items marked done, missing or uncertain. Hover over an item for evidence where supplied.
Re-run requests a fresh check. A warning that the quote was not changed after the latest customer email is a prompt to investigate. An audit is an aid, not approval: make needed quote edits in the quote editor and verify them yourself.
12Download an attachment
Expand the message and select the attachment's named button. The original file is fetched from the connected provider on demand. Check the downloaded filename and content.
For a system-captured invoice or purchase-order email, regenerate its PDF from that record. Some sent or BCC-captured messages require opening the original in the sender's mailbox. A visible attachment name does not mean SlabOS keeps a permanent copy of its bytes.
13Prepare a reply on a quote
Select the correct conversation in Customer Emails and write in its reply box. Use the offered formatting controls, and check the Sends as address beneath the editor. Send reply sends within that conversation using the connected mailbox, subject to access rules.
Draft me a response can prepare suggested text. Read and edit it before sending; it is not a substitute for confirming the customer's requests. Switching subject tabs does not clear an unsent reply, so review the selected thread and draft together before choosing Send reply.
14Attach files to the next quote email
Use Attach to my next email to choose files from your computer, Attach quote PDF for the quote's selected form template, or Attach contract for the contract PDF. Selected attachments appear as chips; use a chip's X to remove it before sending.
Computer-file attachments have a 12 MB combined limit in this panel. Review the armed attachments whether sending a reply or opening New email: they belong to the next send, not automatically to every future message. Selecting attachments does not itself send anything.
15Compose a new conversation
Choose New email on a quote, or Compose on an Emails card. Review To and Cc, the subject and the body. Typing a few letters can offer matching addresses; select the intended contact and verify the complete address.
This composer requires an active connected mailbox. Review its sender and any selected attachment label before Send. Cancel closes it without sending; do not rely on closing the composer to save a draft for later.
16Use a reusable email template
Insert a template replaces the composer's subject and body with that template. Review the resulting text and merged customer, account, quote or job values. Insert the template before composing your own changes so those changes are not overwritten.
Save as template stores the current subject and body as a reusable team template when your access permits it. Give it a clear name. Avoid saving one customer's resolved details as generic instructions for everyone; use supported merge fields where appropriate.
17Move a mismatched thread
Open the three-dot Email options menu beside the conversation and choose Move to another record. Select Quote, Job or Account, then search using at least two characters of a name, number or address.
Read the result's number, title and supporting details, then select the exact destination. Move conversation replaces the previous SlabOS connections and reports the correction to SlabOS. Cancel closes the dialog without applying it. Moving does not forward an email or move it between mailbox folders.
18Unlink unrelated mail
Choose Unlink conversation when the conversation should no longer be attached. That menu action applies immediately. The Not related — unlink button inside the simpler thread panel asks for confirmation.
Unlinking changes the SlabOS association; it does not delete the original messages from Gmail or Outlook. Check that the conversation disappears from the source record. If it simply belongs to another project, use Move to another record instead.
19Check both records
After moving a thread, reopen the source and destination. Confirm it appears under the intended destination and no longer appears as a direct match on the wrong record. Account-level mail can still appear under a quote when Include customer conversations not linked to a project is enabled.
No email is sent merely to correct an association. If a separate reply is needed, select the correct conversation and review the recipients, draft and attachments first.
20Disconnect only when intended
Disconnect asks you to confirm the mailbox address and warns that its synced threads will be removed from SlabOS. This is different from unlinking one conversation. It does not delete the originals from Gmail or Outlook.
For a temporary connection problem, read the status and try Reconnect where offered. After any connection change, recheck sync status, your signature and Send system emails as me before relying on the mailbox for further sends.
Check the result
- The conversation appears under the intended record and no longer appears as a direct match on the wrong one.
- No new email was sent merely to fix a record association.
If something looks wrong
- An account can have several jobs with similar subjects. Search by a specific project detail before choosing the destination.
- If messages are unavailable, inspect mailbox connection status and your access.