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Email composer

The email composer creates and sends an email from a record, using your organisation's configured email integration. It opens from valuations, projects, quotes, and requests, as well as from an invoice raised on a valuation or project, and records every message it sends on the originating record's event log.

Availability

The composer opens from a record. The entry point determines what is pre-filled when it appears.

Open it fromAvailable onWhat is pre-filled
Send email in the Actions menuValuations, projectsA default subject, no recipients
Send email on a quoteQuotesA default subject built from the property address, no recipients
Send email in the form headerRequestsThe record's contacts
The envelope on a contactValuations, projects, quotes, requestsThe selected contact
The Send invoice button on an invoiceValuations, projectsThe billing contact, with the invoice attached

When email templates are enabled and a template exists for the record type, the Send email Actions menu path offers template selection before the composer opens.

Send email composer
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Sending email requires the Send email permission, the email integration feature, and email enabled for your organisation.

Sender

The From address is read-only. It shows your organisation's configured sending address and display name, set by the email integration, and cannot be changed for an individual message.

Recipients

The Recipient(s) field accepts one or more addresses and is the only required address field. Its options are drawn from the record and your organisation.

SourceDescription
Record contactsContacts on the record that have an email address.
Internal rolesUsers assigned to the record, each labelled with their role. Valuations and projects list the valuer, supervising valuer, assignee, additional valuers, and signatories. Quotes list the quoter, valuer, assignee, additional valuers, and signatories. Requests have no role-based contacts.
YouYour own account, labelled Me.
Company contactsContacts saved against your organisation.

Reply-to, cc, and bcc

Three toggle buttons above the recipients reveal optional address fields.

Reply-to addressToggle
Directs recipient replies to a chosen address
ccToggle
Copies additional recipients visibly
bccToggle
Copies additional recipients privately

Adding a recipient

Add recipientAction
Includes a contact not already in the list
New email recipient dialog

Sensitivity label

A Sensitivity label classifies the content of the email. A default label is applied automatically when your organisation has configured one. Only visible when sensitivity labels are enabled for your organisation.

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When your organisation requires a sensitivity label, the email cannot be sent until one is selected.

Managing sensitivity labels

Sensitivity labels are configured in Settings | System, under Email integration. Enabling sensitivity labels there reveals a Manage sensitivity labels button, which opens the label list.

Require sensitivity labels on emailsToggle
Makes selecting a label mandatory before sending
Site IDInput
Aligns labels with your Microsoft Entra tenant

The label list shows every label and sublabel in priority order, refreshed using the button. Drag a row to reorder it. Reordering is disabled while a sort or filter is active.

Creating or editing a sensitivity label

Click + New label, or right-click an existing row and choose Create new label or Create new sublabel, to open the label editor. Double-click a row to edit it.

FieldDescription
NameThe label's name within VOW.
Display nameThe name shown to recipients in Outlook. Matches Name unless changed separately.
DescriptionAn internal description of the label's purpose, shown only within VOW.
User tooltipThe text shown to recipients in Outlook when they hover over the label. Required.
ColourThe colour used to display the label. Inherited from the parent label when the label has one.
ActiveWhether the label is available for selection.
Default label for new emailsWhether this label is pre-selected when composing a new email.
This is a parent label (group)Toggle
Groups related sublabels together
Parent labelInput
Nests the label under a group label
Apply content marking to emails using this labelToggle
Stamps header or footer text onto the email

Click Save to save the label.

DeleteAction
Removes a label permanently

Message content

The message body is composed in a rich-text editor, with a required subject line above it.

Subject

The Subject is required. It supports template fields, which are replaced with values from the record when a template is applied.

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If the subject still contains template fields in double braces (``) that could not be filled from the record, the email cannot be sent until they are resolved.

Formatting toolbar

The toolbar above the body applies rich-text formatting.

Email body formatting toolbar

The following table describes each control available in the toolbar, in the order they appear.

ControlDescription
Undo / RedoSteps backwards or forwards through recent edits.
Text styleApplies Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, or Normal text.
Font sizeSets a specific size, or increases and decreases the current size.
Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, UnderlineCharacter formatting marks.
Text colourSets or clears the colour of the selected text.
HighlightApplies or clears a highlight colour behind the text.
Clear formattingRemoves all marks from the selection.
AlignmentAligns text left, centre, right, or justified.
Indent / OutdentIncreases or decreases the indent of a paragraph.
Bulleted list / Numbered listStarts or toggles a list.
Insert imageAction
Embeds an image in the message body
Insert tableAction
Adds rows and columns to the body
Insert linkAction
Turns selected text into a hyperlink

Template fields

Template fields are data placeholders that pull values from the current record into the email body (for example, a job name, address, or inspection date from a valuation). Each field displays its current value inline as you compose, so you can see exactly what the recipient will receive.

The Template fields panel on the right lists the fields available for the current record type. Drag a field from the panel into the body to insert it, or type @ in the body to search for and select a field from a pop-up list. The Replace variable with text toolbar action converts a selected field into its current plain-text value.

Template fields are available for valuations, projects, quotes, and requests.

Template fields panel

Email attachments

The Email attachments section on the right lists files that can be attached from the record.

ItemDescription
ReportThe record's report document. When no document exists yet, a draft is generated and attached as the email is sent. Valuations and projects only.
InvoicesInvoices on the record. Indicators show when an invoice's attachment has not been generated yet or is outdated. Valuations and projects only.
AttachmentsFiles attached to the record.
Email attachments selector

Signature

The Signature field selects the signature appended to the email. My signature is available when you have set one in your account settings; Company signature is always available. When you have not set a personal signature, only the company signature is offered.

See My Settings to set your personal email signature.

Using a template

Click Select template to apply a template to the email. The selection dialog lists active templates for the record type. Choose one and click Use template, or click Blank email to start from scratch. Applying a template fills the recipients, subject, body, signature, and reply-to, cc, and bcc fields according to the template's configuration, and applies the template's sensitivity label when sensitivity labels are enabled.

Select a template dialog
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Applying a template can replace recipients you have already added. When that would happen, a 'Recipients changed' confirmation appears before the template is applied.

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Templates are only offered when email templates are enabled for your organisation. See [Email templates](../systemadmin/email-templates.md) for creating and managing them.

Sending the email

Click Send to send the email. Before sending, the composer checks that a subject is present, at least one recipient is added, a sensitivity label is set when your organisation requires one, and the body is not empty. Click Cancel to discard the message.

Once sent, the email is recorded on the record's event log, and any invoices attached to it are marked as sent.

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Every email sent from a record is saved to that record's event log.

See Sending emails for a step-by-step walkthrough.