Syncing IMAP mail notes

Feature request
1

Dear eM Client Team,

i recently downloaded the test version of eM Client to see whether or not it would suit our needs. We run a small non-profit and mail is used by myself and two colleagues, mostly working on the same IMAP accounts.

Up until now, we’ve been using Apples Mail, in conjuncture with a) an extension for PGP, b) another extension for mail tracking, and c) another extension for tagging mails and adding notes.

Looking at eM Client, I am thoroughly impressed! It’s such a well-done piece of code, very pleasing optics, and above average functionality (plus, it’s from the Czech Republic - uplne miluju lidi a taky zeme, ale jenom mluvim trochijku protoze to jazyk je opravdu tezke :slight_smile: ). And, WOW, it’s got an integration for PGP as well as mail tracking!

Only being able to sync notes added to IMAP mails is missing …
And this is an absolute must-have, most likely not only for us but for quite a few people. As an example: We receive phone calls as mp3 as well as transcript via mail; if we call people back, we add whatever was talked about on the phone to the notes; also follow-ups, To Dos etc.

The extension mentioned above can do that. BUT: Not with Sonoma. This is why they now develop a standalone mail client, that will handle IMAPs as well as the old functionalities of tagging, note sync and so on.

Now, I know an eventual sync of notes to IMAP mails cannot be saved on the IMAP server itself. This is why the extension uses it’s own sync server.

Can I kindly suggest maybe considering this as a possible feature for eM Client? I can only imagine the work and logistics this would mean, but this would be the absolute killer feature that would blow all other mail apps for Mac out of the water. The other company announced their own standalone mail client for “end of the year” - this was on their page last year as well as this year, so who knows if this will even happen or if it was just too much work after all.

I’m sure you have your eyes on the market already, but maybe this feedback from an user-perspective is helpful.

Thanks for your great product and I hope this feature will eventually be integrated so we can be happy (and gladly paying) customers,

Olli

2

Server-Side Notes is only available in eM Client with “Exchange, Office365, IceWarp and CalDAV” accounts as per the eM Client notes page below.

(eM Client Notes webpage extract)

https://www.emclient.com/features-notes

“eM Client fully supports local and server-side Notes. Write fancy notes with pictures and attachments, organize them via tags, and sync notes across all your devices. Works with Exchange, Office365, IceWarp and CalDAV providers that provide a Notes feature on their server”.

If you have a Personal IMAP eg: Outlook, Live or Hotmail account, you can access Notes via the One Note icon at the top of your MS webmail or you can access it directly via https://www.onenote.com/

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1 Like
3

The Notes feature @cyberzork outlined is a folder with individual notes but they are not linked to an email message. I think the original poster is referring to email notes, as outlined here: Offload your thoughts with notes for email | eM Client

Email linked notes according to the blog page is only synchronized when using an Exchange account, not an IMAP account. As the original poster says, since IMAP doesn’t support notes such as these being synchronized server side, one option would be to use a secondary sync service just for the notes to sync (which in @olley olley case was accomplished through a secondary service plug-in). As mentioned, for this to be included in eM Client in that same way would be a big task because of the additional infrastructure, and probably not a preferred method anyway since it means your data is stored across multiple providers.

I think one possible work-around (hack) solution for IMAP would be to store the notes in an IMAP folder as separate emails, which could then be linked back to the original email that the note was set on. This wouldn’t require an additional server, and thus much easier to implement. The difficult part would be linking the two, especially if the IMAP server changes the UID on the message where the note was set on. So it is a possible work around that maybe @Gary would have more input on if it is realistic, and worth putting on the sleekplan voting system or not. I admit this is a feature I would like to see myself, since having the email notes only locally is very limited.

But currently if you want to use eM Client and require email linked notes to be synchronized server-side, then you must use an Exchange server side account according to the blog post about this exact feature.

More forum discussion about the email notes feature at: Question about notes - #6 by itsec

1 Like
4

Thank you both for your replies!

lacealot: “… and probably not a preferred method anyway since it means your data is stored across multiple providers.”
100% agreed. The other service who solved this by using their own server for note syncing … it eventually did work, but especially in the beginning, it was super buggy. The workaround mentioned by you sounds exciting and like a much more sensible approach … if it can be done.

From an user perspective, I find syncable notes linked to E-Mails an amazing thing for any team co-working on IMAP accounts. In our case, a real CRM isn’t needed, but the synced notes on mails were just wonderful. Actually, we’re still using them, but cannot upgrade to Sonoma in the meantime. Also, when the new stand-alone mail client is eventually released by the company offering the note sync extension, it will probably take 1-2 years until it can reliably be used …

We will see! Such a powerful work tool and I’m amazed it’s not more commonly used or in demand.