Overview
Email is where most of a project's back-and-forth lives, like client questions, vendor quotes, change requests, approvals. The problem is that your inbox has no idea which messages belong to which project, so your team ends up jumping between their mailbox and Structur just to piece together what's going on with a single job.
The Emails feature fixes that by connecting your mailbox directly to Structur. Once connected, every message tied to the client you're working with is pulled into the project and shown alongside the project details you already use. You can read, reply, mark as read, archive, and handle attachments, all without leaving Structur.
This keeps your project context in one place, so anyone on the team opening a project sees the full conversation history next to the scope, budget, schedule, and everything else. No more digging through a personal inbox to piece together where things stand.
Note: You must have the Structur Pro subscription to connect your mailbox to Structur.
Understanding the Emails Feature
What It Does
The Emails feature allows you and your team to:
Connect your mailbox - link Gmail, Outlook, or any IMAP-supported provider to Structur from Settings
Sync previous and new messages - pull in your full email history with a client, not just messages sent after connecting
See project-related messages in one place - every email tied to the client on the project appears inside that project
Reply without leaving Structur - respond to client and vendor messages directly from the project page
Mark as read or archive - manage messages the same way you would in your regular email client
View and download attachments - access files sent by the client right inside the project
When to Use It
The Emails feature is most valuable when you want to:
Keep all client conversations for a project in one place, not scattered across inboxes
Give your team visibility into the latest client messages without forwarding anything
Reply to clients with the project context already open in front of you
Stop switching tabs between Structur and your mailbox throughout the day
Build a clear, project-tied history of communication that anyone on the team can reference
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Connect Your Mailbox
Note: You must be on the Structur Pro plan to connect your mailbox. If you're on a different plan, upgrade before continuing.
Open Settings from the left sidebar
Click Integrations in the left sidebar
Find the Email integration - the Account Status will show Disconnected
Click your email provider to connect:
Continue with Google - for Gmail accounts
Continue with Microsoft - for Outlook and Microsoft 365 accounts
Other IMAP Server - for all other supported email providers
Follow the authorization steps for your provider
Once authorized, the Account Status updates to Connected and Structur begins syncing your emails
2. Open a Project and Go to the Emails Module
Open the project you want to work in
Click Emails in the module top bar
If your mailbox hasn't been connected yet, you'll see a Connect button in the center of the screen. Click it to go directly to Settings > Integrations and set up the connection.
3. Sync Previous and New Emails
Once connected, click Fetch Previous Emails in the top right of the Emails module. This syncs both your historical emails and any new incoming messages tied to the client on this project.
Note: Structur only shows emails tied to the client assigned to the project you're viewing. Messages unrelated to your Structur clients won't appear in the Emails module.
4. Manage Messages
From the Emails module you can:
Reply - respond to a message without leaving the project
Mark as read - clear messages off your unread list
Archive - remove handled messages from the active view
Open attachments - view and download files the client sent
Every action stays tied to the project, so the next person opening the project sees the full, up-to-date conversation.
Best Practices
Connect your mailbox early - set up the integration when you first start using Structur so every project picks up its client conversations automatically.
Use Fetch Previous Emails on every project - this ensures you have the full conversation history in Structur, not just messages sent after connecting.
Reply from inside Structur - keeping the conversation in the project means nothing important lives only in a personal inbox your team can't see.
Archive as you go - treat the project Emails module like a real inbox and archive handled messages so active items stay meaningful.
Keep client records accurate - Structur matches emails to projects based on the client assigned to the project, so clean client records mean the right conversations show up in the right place.
Common Questions
Q: Do I need a specific Structur plan to use this feature?
A: Yes. You need the Structur Pro subscription to connect your mailbox. If you're on a different plan, upgrade before attempting to connect.
Q: Which email providers can I connect?
A: Structur supports Google (Gmail), Microsoft (Outlook and Microsoft 365), and any other provider that supports IMAP. All three options are available under Settings > Integrations.
Q: Will Structur pull in every email from my inbox?
A: No. Structur shows messages tied to the client assigned to the project you're viewing. Messages unrelated to your Structur clients and projects won't appear in the Emails module.
Q: What does Fetch Previous Emails do?
A: It syncs both your historical emails and new incoming messages tied to the client on the project. Use it to make sure you have the full conversation history in Structur, not just messages sent after you connected your mailbox.
Q: Can my teammates see the messages I pulled in?
A: Yes. Anyone with access to the project can see the email conversations tied to it. That shared visibility is the whole point, so client communication stops living in one person's inbox.
Q: If I reply from Structur, does the client see it as a normal email?
A: Yes. Replies are sent through your connected mailbox and arrive in the client's inbox like any other email.
Q: What happens if I archive a message in Structur?
A: Archiving removes the message from the project's active Emails view. The message is not deleted from your mailbox.
Q: Can I connect more than one mailbox?
A: Currently, the integration is tied to the mailbox you connect in Settings. If multiple mailbox support is important to your workflow, it's on the Structur roadmap.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don't | Do |
Keep replying from your personal inbox after connecting | Reply from the Emails module so the project has a full conversation history |
Skip clicking Fetch Previous Emails after connecting | Always fetch emails so your full history syncs into the project |
Expect every message in your inbox to appear in Structur | Remember Structur only shows emails tied to the client on the project you're viewing |
Try to connect a mailbox without the Structur Pro subscription | Upgrade to Pro before attempting to connect your mailbox |
Forward emails to teammates manually | Let teammates see the conversation directly on the project through Emails |
Leave client records sloppy or duplicated | Keep client records accurate so Structur matches emails to the right projects |