View Email Threads on the Email Threads Tab

Project Data or selected view of Project Data > Email Threads tab

A thread is a sequence of email or short messages, beginning with the original message and including all of the replies that followed it. When email or short messages have been threaded, you can examine the threads and the messages within them in Project Data or a given view of Project Data (such as Folder, Custodian, or Search Result). On the Email Threads and Short Message Threads tab, you can see lists of all of the threads in the view, then launch the Document Viewer to list and review the individual messages in a particular thread.

Email Threading

Email Threading is enabled by default in new Organizations and their Projects To manage Email Threading in a Project, you can use one of the following methods:

  • Automatic Email Threading — For users with permissions, automatically Threads all views of Project Data at a time and performs auto-updating of the Threading when messages and their attachments are added or removed from all of Project Data or the given view. This method is the default and is suitable for making Threading available at all times. Note that in large Projects, Threading may take time to complete (and update). If you have the appropriate permissions, you can edit the Project Analytic Settings to control the setting of Automatic Email Threading, or control the setting in an Analytic Settings template.
  • On-demand Email Threading — This lets any user control when to perform Threading and Threading updates. You can initiate Threading for Project Data or any view of Project Data to see the Threads scoped to the appropriate view.

Note: When Threading has been performed, the Email Threads tab list for a view includes a Thread when at least one message in the Thread is in the view. Note that no Threading information is available for a Search while Email Threading is in progress.

Email Threads Tab Options

Use the following main options to help you manage Email Threading:

  • Thread All Emails — If the Email Threads tab is empty and Threading has not been performed (that is, Automatic Email Threading has been disabled or emails have been unthreaded), click Thread All Emails button to initiate Email Threading. Loading messages appear while Email Threading is in progress and Threads are being loaded for a view. Provided that the view contains email messages to Thread, you should see a list of Threads scoped to that view when Threading is complete, and the Work Basket task should report the number of Threads calculated overall.
  • Email Threads — If you have the appropriate permissions, you can use this menu to perform one of the following actions:
    • Update All Threads — If there are changes to the email content of the view, click the Update All Threads button to update the Threading in the view. For example, you can update the Threading after emails subject to Threading have been added or removed from Project Data. The Update All Threads button is grayed out and unavailable unless the software has detected that the view contents have changed.
    • Unthread All Emails — For a populated Email Threads tab only, this option removes Email Threading entirely from Project Data and any view of Project Data. An Unthreading Emails task appears in the Work Basket. When the operation completes, users with permissions can click Thread All Emails to perform Threading again and see the Threads scoped to the current view of Project Data, if the view has at least one Thread.

You can display the contents of a selected Thread by double-clicking a Thread and opening the Document Viewer.

Thread Selection

The Email Threads list uses a per-thread checkbox to support selection of individual Threads on a given page and a top checkbox to support selection of all Threads across all pages in the view:

Note: Selected:<value> displays the number of Threads currently selected. When you select the top checkbox, a message indicates that you have all items selected in the current view (across all pages for a tab). For example, if the All Docs tab has 100 Threads, and you use the top-level checkbox, you will see the message Selected: All 100 If you use the individual checkboxes on a given page of the active tab, a message indicates how many items you have selected on this page. For example, if you have selected all docs and then deselect one item from the current page, you will see the message Selected: 99 on this page

  • (per-Thread checkbox) — Use the checkbox to the left of an Email Thread Name to select that Thread. To clear the selection of a Thread on a page of the view, clear the per-Thread checkbox.
  • (top-level checkbox) — Use the checkbox that appears at the top of the list to select all Threads in the view (across all pages for a tab). Note that if you select this checkbox for an operation such as Add Tags, the tagging is applied across Project Data. To clear the selection of all Threads in the view, clear the top checkbox. If you select one or more but not all Threads in a given list, the top checkbox changes to to indicate that one or more items have been selected, but not all items.

Thread Information

The Email Threads list shows information about each Thread:

  • Tags – One or more Tags that have been applied to a Thread. Each Tag has a color assigned to it. For this tab, tagging is done on the Thread by default, not the Family.
  • Name – Displays the thread icon and the subject line of an email representing the thread, when available (for example, re: company meeting.msg). This applies to email messages, calendar items, as well as journal entries and tasks.
  • First Message – The date of the first message in the email thread.
  • Last Message – The date of the last message in the email thread.

Document Menu Options for the Email Threads List

The Document drop-down menu is available for a selected Thread, but is unavailable when you select the top checkbox for all Threads. Use the Document drop-down menu to see a list of options available for an Email Threads view, based on permissions:

Note: For operations that require you to select a target Folder or other view, be aware that the available target options change based on your context. For example, if you are removing Threads from a Folder, you cannot create a new Folder.

  • Add Tags – Launches the Tag dialog, from which you can select Tags to apply to a selected Thread. You can also create a Tag and use it right away.
  • Remove Tags – Launches the Tag dialog, from which you can select Tags to remove from a selected Thread.
  • Add to – Enables you to add messages in an Email Thread to a selected Folder or Custodian based on permissions. For more information about manager Folders, see Add or Remove Documents or Search Results to a Folder. For more information about managing Custodian views, see Manage Custodians and Data Assigned to Custodians. Note that if you are performing the operation from search results that may not contain all members of the Email Thread, the operation will not go outside of the scope of the results to add any missing members of the Thread. For example, if a Thread has 3 messages and only 2 of the messages are in the results, then the Add to operation for the selected Thread from the results will add only the 2 Thread messages that are in the results.
  • Remove from – Removes an Email Thread from the selected Folder or Custodian based on permissions. The Thread messages are still available within the Project, they just no longer reside within that Folder or Custodian. For a Custodian, removing a Thread from a given named Custodian automatically reassigns the messages in the Thread to the Unassigned Custodian. (Removing a Thread from the Unassigned Custodian is not permitted; if you want to assign a Thread from Unassigned to another Custodian, perform an Add To operation to the appropriate Custodian view. For more information about managing Custodian views, see Manage Custodians and Data Assigned to Custodians.)

Selected Thread Options

When you select a single Email Thread in a Project Data-based list and right-click (or use the click the ellipses at the far right), a context menu appears with the following options:

  • Open Thread Inline – Opens the first message of the Thread in the Document Viewer inline.
  • Open Thread in New Window – Opens the first message of the Thread in the Document Viewer, in a new browser window (or tab). This enables you to focus on each message in the Thread and the associated attachments, if applicable.