Starting to Compose an Email

Contents

    You can send an email from several start points:

    Compose button

    This is visible when you a viewing a list of messages:

    Compose button

    Compose menu option

    This is available from the overflow menu when you are viewing a single message:

    Compose menu option

    Via another Android app

    For example, when you view a contact in the Contacts app, you can send an email to that contact using K-9 by tapping their email address.

    Via contacts

    Your browser can open K-9 when you tap a special type of web link called mailto: which is designed to open your email client and autofill the address(es), subject, and email body.

    Replying

    You can send a message based on an existing message using one of the options in the reply menu

    Reply menu

    Reply

    This will compose a message to the sender and quote the existing message.

    If the message has a ‘Reply-To’ header, this will be used as the recipient of the reply.

    Many mailing lists include a ‘List-Post’ header. This is the destination address to use when sending messages to the list. K-9 will use it, if present.

    If the subject line does not start with “re:”, then “Re:” will be preprended to the subject.

    Reply all

    This will compose a message to the sender and quote the existing message. It will add all other recipients visible in the Reply-To, From, and CC headers.

    Forward

    This will compose a message and quote the existing message. The recipient is left empty for you to fill in.

    If the subject line does not start with “fwd:”, then “Fwd: will be preprended to the subject.

    Forward as attachment

    This will compose a message and attach the existing message as an .eml file. EML is an internet standard for sharing emails as files, recognized by major mail clients such as Microsoft Outlook.

    Updated on June 7, 2026
    Was this article helpful?

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *