Mac Mail App Tips: Send, Reply, Attachments, Search & More

Mail is a powerful email application that lets you communicate, share attachments, and keep your messages organized. Our guide walks you through basic operations like how to add an email attachment and delete messages to help manage your email documents within the Mac Mail app.

Jump to:

• Send & Reply to Emails in the Mail App on a Mac
• Upload & Download Email Attachments on a Mac
• Search for Emails in the Mail App
• Mark All Emails as Read on Mac
• Delete an Email from Apple Mail

How to Send & Reply to Emails in the Mac Mail App

Send an Email in the Mail App

Start with your Mail app open. Once you have your email accounts linked and your signature set up, you’re ready to send emails using the Mail app. Here’s how to do it:

1. Click the Compose button at the top of the screen.
   
   
    
2. In the From section, you'll see your email address.
3. If you'd like to switch to a different email address of yours, use the drop-down menu to choose the right one.
   
   
    
4. In the To section, type the name or email address of the recipient. As you start typing, Mail will offer auto-complete options.
   
   
    
5. Type the Subject and the Body of your email.
6. When you’re ready, click on the paper airplane Send icon in the top-left corner to send your message.
   
   
    
7. Once sent, you can find this message in your Sent folder.

Reply to an Email in the Mail App

1. Select the message that you’d like to respond to and click on the back arrow to reply or the double back arrow to reply to all.
   
   
    
2. This will open a new window.
3. Type your response in the body of the email. When you’re done, click the paper airplane Send icon to send the message.
   
   
4. Your sent email will now appear in the Sent folder.

How to Upload & Download Email Attachments on a Mac

Sending and receiving attachments is seamless when you use the Mail app.

Download Attachments in the Mail App

In a few clicks, you can download, open, and save the attachments you receive:

1. Open the email with the attachment. When you receive photo attachments, these often appear in the body of the email.
   
   
    
2. To download, click on the paper clip Attachment icon. This will open a menu with a download icon that looks like an arrow pointing down.
3. By clicking on the download icon, you can Save your attachments and choose their Location in your Mac.
   
   

Add Attachments in the Mail App

1. Click the Compose icon at the top of the screen to start writing a new email, or click on the Reply icon to respond to an existing email.
2. In the new window, type your message in the body of the email and click on the Attachment icon to attach your file.
   
   
    
3. Select your attachment and click on Choose File.
   
   
    
4. The file icon will appear beneath your message.
5. When you’re ready, click on the Send icon.
   
   

How to Search for Emails in the Mail App

The Mail app’s search tool helps you find specific messages or a piece of information in your emails:

1. Click the Search icon in the top-right corner of your window and type your search. You can enter the name of a person, email address, subject or anything that helps you find the message you’re looking for.
   
   
    
2. Your search results will show all the emails that include your search.
3. Once you’ve found the right email, just click the message to open it.

How to Mark All Emails as Read on Mac

It’s hard to keep track of emails when you receive more messages than you can read. Using the Mail filter button, you can easily find all your unread emails:

1. Click the Filter button at the top of All Inboxes. This will show all of your unread emails.
   
   
    
2. Select all of your unread emails (many users use the keyboard shortcut cmd + A to select all).
3. Right-click on one of the selected emails.
4. Choose Mark as Read from the drop down menu.
   
   
    
5. To remove the filter, just click the icon again to deselect it.

How to Delete an Email in the Mail App

If you like to keep your inbox clean, Mail makes it easy for you to delete unwanted emails:

1. Select the email you want to delete. To select multiple emails, hold shift and click on each of the emails you wish to delete.
   
   
    
2. Click the Trash icon at the top to delete. This will move the email to the Trash folder.
   
   
    
3. To permanently delete items from the Trash folder, select the emails within the folder and click the Trash icon again.
   
   

The Apple Mail app is a handy tool with many useful features. With its everyday functionalities, you can improve the efficiency of your communications and make email more productive for you.