I finally figured out the point of email links!

[nlippman]

I’m posting this in Cool Workflows because there is no category for “too stupid to have understood this before.”

I finally got the point of creating url links to emails in Mail.app, which MacSparky has talked about forever, and I never really understood.

I get a fair number of emails which create a task for me to perform, whether responding to the email, carrying out a computer (or physical) action, etc. I try to keep track of them as best as I can, but inevitably many get forgotten about and rediscovered later after someone yells at me for not having done something.

I always tried to create a task about what needs to be done, but when I do, I then have to go back and search for the email or incorporate all the information from the email into the task.

I really don’t know why I never understood just creating a link from the task back to the email, but now I get it!

Two KM macros later. One builds the links to all selected emails and puts the links into the clipboard. The other builds the same list of links and opens the Things3 quick entry window with the links as a note on the task, ready to create the task information and drop it into the Inbox or a specific project.

This is really helpful. I wish I had understood this a long time ago!

[anon41602260]

Another option is to use Mail to Things.

[Gem]

I use them for project notes. E.g.:

Client’s preliminary budget is X-Y. [email]
Client confirmed they want Sistine Chapel photo changed to a poop emoji. [email]

[oldblueday]

Can’t easily make those links on my iPhone. On my Mac, I can hit control-space and drag an email (as long as its not a thread) into the Things new item prompt (or directly into a Things list). On iPadOS, I can drag an email from Mail to Things. Can’t do it on iOS, though. I can drag an email from iOS to Reminders though (on iPhone). Mail to Things is a good option. Thanks.

Also, sometimes the links don’t work. Or perhaps after sometime they expire?

[WayneG]

@oldblueday

I can drag an email from iOS to Reminders though (on iPhone).

I’ve been doing that on Mac for years, didn’t know it worked on IOS. Thanks.

[oldblueday]

I wonder just how many of these little unadvertised hidden surprises exist on iOS.

[WayneG]

Obviously there are more than I’ve found and I’ve been using iPads since ‘11.

[Bmosbacker]

Here is one way to do this on iOS/iPadOS.

But, my workaround is to create the email in the Drafts app with the hyperlink, use preview in Drafts and then use the mail action to send it. This preserves the hyperlink.

In Drafts:

Result:

EDIT: I intended my reply for all on this post.

[ldebritto]

@oldblueday

Can’t easily make those links on my iPhone.

Have you tried this:

IOS/iPadOS 15 tips/tricks

You can hold your finger on the screen with the selection and then use another finger to go back to the Home Screen and open the desired app. So a Mail to Things workflow would look like this; Hold your finger in the message (blank part of the header seems to work best for this) Wait till the drag and drop cue for item selection shows up Use a second finger to swipe up the Switcher bar (or swipe left for the last used app) Open your app of choice (Things in my case) and use the first finger t…

There’s a bit of two-finger-gymnastics on a phone involved, but it does the job.

[oldblueday]

Wow, I swear that didn’t work last time I tried it but it does now. Maybe I was doing something wrong previously. Thanks, @ldebritto.