This section familiarizes you with Zimbra’s email interface.
Figure 2. Email interface
This page is the first thing you see when you log in to check your emails.It has
A left sidebar.
An email pane.
A reading pane located to the right or below the email pane.The reading pane can be disabled from Settings.
You can drag to change the width of each pane.
Left Sidebar
The left pane of the email window contains the following folders.
- Inbox
Whenever someone sends you an email, it comes straight to your Inbox.Click this folder to view your incoming emails.You can also right-click this folder to create subfolders.
- Drafts
Mails that you have written and saved — or which Zimbra saved while you were composing them — but not yet sent appear under drafts folder.
- Sent
When you send an email to someone, it appears in your sent folder.You can right-click this folder to create subfolders.
- Junk
Zimbra moves all the unwanted or spam emails here to keep them out of your Inbox.
- Trash
All deleted emails are moved to this folder until you Empty the Trash, permanently delete, or move to another folder to keep.
- Folders
Sometimes, you may want a folder for storing specific emails.All such folders are listed here.
- Saved Searches
If you create a search that you want to use again, you can save it. The saved searches are listed here.
- Tags
It also lists your tags that other emails may carry.Clicking a tag lists all emails in the email pane, carrying that tag.You can also create a custom tag.
Email Pane
This pane displays emails from your Inbox by default.Event invitations appear with 
. This icon helps set an invitation apart from an email.Clicking a folder in the Left Sidebar lists its contents in this pane.
This pane also displays the search result.
Reading Pane
When an email is selected, this pane shows its contents.
A toolbar displays some quick actions regarding an email.
| These buttons become functional after you select an email and view its contents in the reading pane. |
Click 
to reply to the person who sent this email.Click 
to reply to everyone whose email address appears in To or Cc fields.
| Any attachment in the original email is not included in Reply or Reply All functions. |
Click 
to forward this email to others.It is especially helpful in sending a received attachment to others.
archives your emails and saves space.Archived emails do not appear in Inbox or any of the folders, but you can search for them using Email Search box.
removes emails from the current folder and moves them to a folder chosen from the drop-down.
deletes emails.The deleted emails appear in the Trash folder.
marks emails as spam and moves them to the Junk folder.
reveals further actions to take on emails like marking an email as read or unread, or mark an email with a 
for it to stand out, and blocking a contact from sending you emails.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Zimbra supports keyboard shortcuts; to see what shortcuts are defined, type Ctrl+Q.The available keyboard shortcuts are context-sensitive.Ctrl+Q displays different shortcuts depending on whether you have selected mail, calendar, or contacts.
Shift and Ctrl help you select contiguous or non-contiguous emails, respectively.
Keyboard Shortcuts During Input
While providing input, e.g. "Add Event" dialog:
Tab moves to next element
Shift+Tab moves to previous element
Command+C or Ctrl+C to Copy
Command+X or Ctrl+X to Cut
Command+V or Ctrl+V to Paste
Commmand+Z or Ctrl+Z to Undo
Commmand+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Shift+Z to Redo
| Mac users should consider enabling full keyboard access See Use your keyboard like a mouse with Full Keyboard Access |
Tags
Tags help classify and organize email messages or conversations.Tags also help sort emails and make searches easy.You can also apply multiple tags to an email.
Create a Tag
In the Left Sidebar, hover on Tags and click
.Enter the new Tag name and select a color for the tag.
Tag names can include any character except a colon (:), forward-slash (/), and quotation mark ("). Click Save.
You can also create tags when applying them.
In the Email Pane, right-click an email.
From the context menu, select Tag.
Choose
Add a Tag.Enter the new Tag name and select a color for the tag.
Click Save.
The new tag now appears under Tags.
Assign a Tag to an Email
You can assign multiple tags to an email to classify it under different categories.
In the Email Pane, right-click an email.
From the context menu, select Tag.
From the Tags modal, choose an already created tag or create a new one.
Click Save to apply the tag.
You can create tags while applying them.
The new tag is now listed and ready to be applied.
Remove a Tag
Right-click an email that you have tagged.
From the context menu, select Tag.
From the pop-up that appears, uncheck the box against a tag to remove it from the email.
Click Save to remove the tag.
Display Messages with a Specific Tag
In the Left Sidebar, click
before Tags to list all created tags.Click a tag to list all emails with the selected tag in the Email Pane.
Edit a Tag
In the Left Sidebar, click
before Tags to list all created tags.Right click a tag and choose Edit from the context menu.
Change the name and color associated with a tag.
Click Save.
Delete a Tag
In the Left Sidebar, click
before Tags to list all created tags.Right-click a tag and choose Delete from the context menu.
Choose Continue from the confirmation popup.
The selected tag is deleted and cleared off from all emails marked with that tag.The emails stay safe in their respective folders.
Import Email Folders
You can import email folders directly in Zimbra, provided the folders to import are in .tgz format.
In the Left Sidebar, right-click a folder under which you prefer to import your email folder.
From the context menu, choose Import.
From the Import modal, click Choose File.
From the file browser window, choose the
.tgzfile to import.Click Import to begin the import process.
The imported folder appears under the selected folder after the process completes.
Export Email Folders
You can export email folders directly in Zimbra in .tgz format.
In the Left Sidebar, right-click a folder to export.
From the context menu, choose Export.
From the file browser window, choose a location to save the
.tgzfile.The exported folder downloads at the specified location.
You can share your email folders with others and grant them controlled access.
In the Left Sidebar, right-click a folder to share.
From the context menu, choose Share.
Choose appropriate permissions from the Sharing Permissions drop-down.
- View
Users can view all emails under the shared folder but cannot make changes to that folder.
- View, edit, add, and remove
Users have permission to view and edit the contents of a folder, create new subfolders, present items on your behalf, and delete items from the folder.
- View, edit, add, remove, and administer
Users have permission to view and edit the content of a shared folder, create new subfolders, present on your behalf, delete items from the shared folder, and share the folder with others.
Enter the email address(s) with whom to share the email folders.
Click Save for changes to take effect.
If the recipient declines the share, you receive a notification email.Similarly, when you revoke the share, the recipient also receives an email notification.
| When you revoke access to a folder you shared, the folder appears with a strikethrough to receivers of that shared folder. |
Compose and Send a Message
Click New message in the left bar.
Add a recipient email address in the To field.Separate multiple recipients with a comma.
Click To to launch the Choose Contacts dialog.Using this tool, you can search for and choose contacts from a selection of contexts.
Known addresses (from your contacts or frequent correspondents) appear as suggestions automatically.You can click suggestions, or select them with the arrow keys and press Enter.
Set the subject of the email.
Add images and files to your message.
Click Send to send the email.
Select Contacts
When composing an email, click To to launch Choose Contacts window.Alternatively, begin typing recipients to bring up suggestions from which to choose.
| The first suggestion in the auto-complete list is highlighted. You can use Tab, Comma, Semi-colon, or Enter keys to select a highlighted contact. |
These email addresses can be copied and pasted to Cc and Bcc fields as well.
| You can drag and drop email addresses anywhere in To, Cc, and Bcc fields. |
Pick a context for searching and choosing contacts.The options are from your Contact Folders and lists, including:
- Contacts
This group lists all the contacts that you have added yourself.
- Emailed contacts
This folder lists people to whom you have sent emails.
- Global Address List
These are people whose email address domain is the same as yours.However, only a Zimbra administrator can enable this feature.
Format an Email
Use the toolbar at the bottom of the message compose screen to format your text.
Click
beside the font size to see the available options.Click
beside the font type to see the available options.Click
for bold, for italicized, or for underlined text.Click
to choose your desired text color.Click
to choose your desired highlight color.Select text and click
to see alignment options.- left-aligns the selected text.
- right-aligns the selected text.
- center-aligns the selected text.
Click inside a sentence and click
to see numbered list options.Click inside a sentence and click
to see bulleted list options.Highlight a sentence and click
to increase or decrease indent of your text.To create links click
and enter the URL, Text to display, and link’s Title.Click
to select and insert an emoji.To insert and format a table, click
for options.Click
to undo and to redo your changes.
Add images & files
Use the toolbar at the bottom of the message compose screen to attach files to your email.
Attach From my Computer
Click
to open file attach options.Clicking Attach From My Computer brings up a file explorer.
Navigate to the file to attach and click Open.The selected file now appears as an attachment.
You can cancel the attachment upload when it is in progress.Hover on the attachment and click  . |
Attach From Email
Photos
Click
to open file attach options.Select option Attach Photo From Email to open a pane on the right, which shows all the photos that you have sent and received.
Select a photo to attach it to your current email.
Files
Click
to open file attach options.Select option Attach File From Email to open a pane on the right which shows all the files sent and received by you.
Select a file to attach it to your current email.
GIFs
You may also attach `GIF`s to your email if you have the option.
Request Read Receipts
You can send a request for an acknowledgment to recipients that they see when they open your email.
When composing an email, click the three-dot menu () to the right of the From address and choose Request Read Receipt to ask your recipients for a read receipt.
Remember that this is only a request, and your recipients have the option not to send the acknowledgment.Refer to Sending Read Receipts to know more.
Set Email Priority
You can set your email to have a higher priority.Such emails appear with an exclamation mark 
in the receiver’s Inbox.
When composing an email, click the three-dot menu () to the right of the From address and choose High Priority to mark your email as a high priority.
Email Search Box
You can type several phrases in the Search box at the top of the Email Pane. In addition to searching for different words and phrases, you can search in all the folders collectively or individually.
To search, type in your search word or phrase in the email search box and press Enter.
Advanced Search
Click 
next to the search box to show the advanced search fields.Fields listed here help refine your search further.
Choose a folder from the Search In field.
Typing an email address in the From field focuses your search on all emails sent from that address.
Similarly, typing an email address in the To field focuses your search on all emails sent to that address.
Check the box Subject to search emails with these words in their subject line.
Check the box Message body to search the words in the body of the email.Enclose the searched text within quotes to search them as a phrase.
Check the boxes Any or Image if the email you are looking for has an attachment or an image.
Check the box Unread or Starred to search only unread emails or only emails with star.
Specify a date in the Date field.
| None of the above search criteria is mandatory.However, adding more criteria reduces search time and refines the search results further. |
Search Result
Click "Messages" (default view) to view all the searched messages.
Click "Photos" to filter the image files in the searched messages, such as PNG, JPG, GIF, BPM, etc.
Click "Documents" to filter the non-image attachment files in the searched messages.
Saved Searches
If you create a search that you want to use again, click Save Search.
Create the search query from Email Search Box or Advanced Search.
Click Save Search at the head of the Email Pane.
Enter a name for the search.
Click Save.
Searches are saved to the "Saved Searches" in the Left Sidebar.
To use a saved search, click the item in the "Saved Searches". The search results immediately display in the Email Pane.
Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME)
From Kepler-Patch-24 onward, Zimbra Modern Web app supports server side S/MIME functionality. Users can send Signed or Signed and Encrypted emails to other users.
Following are the pre-requisites:
The administrator will have to enable this feature and provide the user’s private certificate and recipient’s public certificate.
The administrator will have to install the zimlet
zimbra-zimlet-secure-mailand enable it for the users.
| User can read or send signed and encrypted messages only when the S/MIME feature is enabled. By default the S/MIME feature is disabled for all users. |
Encrypted Emails
The Encrypted email refers to an email that has been encrypted with a digital certificate.
Encrypting an email helps to protect sensitive data and preserve confidentiality and privacy. This helps in making sure that only the intended recipient can read the email. If the email is intercepted and opened by an unintended user, that user won’t be able to decrypt and view the email.
For sending encrypted emails, users will need their Private certificate and the recipients Public certificate.
For reading encrypted emails, users will only need their Private certificates.
Signed Emails
The Signed email refers to an email that has been signed with a digital certificate.
Signing an email helps to:
Ensure data integrity i.e. the email was not altered from its original form.
Email authenticity i.e. the email came from an authentic sender.
Non-repudiation i.e. the signer cannot deny the authenticity of the email.
This helps in knowing that the received email message comes indeed from the declared sender (a warning appears if someone else intercepted and modified the message before it arrived).
For sending signed emails, users will need their Private certificate.
For reading signed emails, users will need the recipient’s Public certificate.
Importing certificate
| In this guide we assume that the users have got the certificate from standard service providers (e.g. Comodo, DigiCert, Go Daddy, etc) whose root CA certificates are already present in browsers. |
For easy understanding of the steps, we will refer to following examples throughout the section:
Sender’s private certificate - sender-pvt.p12
Recipient’s public certificate - recipient-pub.crt
Importing sender’s private certificate
Supported certificate extensions are pfx and .p12.
Select
→ Settings.Under S/MIME and Encryption, click +Add a certificate.
From the file explorer, select the sender-pvt.p12 and click Open.
Provide the password when prompted and click Save.
Upon succesfull certificate upload, a tool tip message Certificate saved successfully will get displayed.
Importing recipient’s public certificate
Click [Contacts] tab.
Right-click the contact and select Edit Details.
In the Security Certificate section, click on Add a certificate.
From the file explorer, select the recipient-pub.crt and click Open.
Click [Save].
Sending 'Signed' or 'Signed and Encrypted' emails
Compose a new message.
Add a recipient in the To field.
At the right-hand top corner choose an option from the dropdown. By default Do not sign or encrypt is selected.
Do not sign or encrypt: Mail is neither signed nor encrypted. This is equivalent of disabling the S/MIME feature.
Sign: Send signed message to the recipient.
Sign and Encrypt: Send signed and encrypted messages to the recipient.
Click [Send].
S/MIME and Encryption Settings
You can change the sign and encryption preferences from Settings.
Go to
→ Settings → S/MIME and EncryptionSelect the preference of your choice.
Click [Save].
The selected option will be applicable when users compose a new message.
