Email communication is an essential part of the community management industry, often involving work such as processing architectural requests, managing bills, handling disputes, and organizing documents. CiraMail integrates seamlessly with various modules in the CiraNet Management Portal, making it a powerful tool for managing these tasks. Here are some pro tips to help you get the most out of CiraMail:
1. Efficient Access and Navigation
- Quick Access: Use the mail icon in the footer menu of the Navigation Panel to open CiraMail.
- Unread Emails: CiraMail visually distinguishes between “read” and “unread” emails. Newly received emails appear in bold, changing to normal font after they are read. This makes tracking your progress easy.
- Manual Refresh: Refresh your inbox manually to remove completed emails and load new ones. Unlike the classic CiraMail, this helps speed up the system and conserves resources. Don’t forget to use the bell icon at the top right to identify new emails.
2. Attribution Tips
- Search Efficiently: In the property attribution bar, type any part of the address, owner name, or account number to search and select a property quickly.
- Narrow Down Results: Use filters in the search results pop-up to limit results, like typing the community name to refine your search.
- Handle Non-Property-Related Emails: Set the property attribution as “N/A” using “NA” in the search box. This helps identify emails that pertain to a community but not a specific owner.
- Quick Changes: To change an attribution, just click in the box and type the new search term. No need to remove the old one first.
3. Improved Visual Statuses for Email Management
- Attribution Strikethrough: Once an email is attributed, it is marked with a strikethrough font, indicating that it has been processed.
- Transferred or Completed Emails: Look for shaded lines in the inbox to identify emails that have been transferred or completed. This shading helps differentiate these from new or in-progress emails.
- Simultaneous Statuses: You might see read/unread, attribution strikethrough, and shading statuses at once for an email that has gone through multiple steps.
4. Effective Use of Preferences
- Auto Show Unread Email Notes: Set this to “Yes” to automatically display notes on unread emails. This is particularly useful for transferred emails that may contain important updates or questions.
- Adjust Email Browser Size: Customize the pop-up window size when replying to or composing emails for a better user experience. A setting between 60% and 80% works well for most users.
5. Leverage the Actions Menu
- Start Menu: Quickly turn an email into actionable items such as a work order, project/task, or an architectural application. This can streamline the process of managing community tasks directly from the email.
- Links Menu: Link emails to existing items within the platform, including internal tasks, projects, architectural applications, and onboarding checklists.
- Attachments Menu: Upload multiple documents from an email directly to the community or property document archive without needing to navigate away. This shortcut saves time and simplifies document management.
6. Utilize the Spell Check
- On-the-Go Spell Check: The system uses your browser’s built-in spell checker, underlining misspelled words in red as you type. This allows you to fix errors immediately, improving the quality of your communication.
- Spell Check in Subject Line: The spell checker even works in the email subject line, ensuring that your messages are polished and error-free.
- Address Errors: Right-click on misspelled words to see suggested corrections, or add unique words to your personal dictionary.
- If Spell check is not working, make sure it is enabled in your browser
7. Optimize Your CiraMail Layout
- Save Layout: Customize column orders and sizes in the inbox to suit your workflow, then use the “Save Layout” feature to maintain this setup every time you log in.
- Pin Box List: If you prefer to keep the CiraMail box list expanded while working, use the pushpin icon to lock it in place.
8. Additional Features to Explore
- Board Member Emails: Emails from board members are highlighted (in yellow), helping you prioritize communication from key stakeholders.
- Hyperlinks for Easy Navigation: Click on the community name or address in the email grid columns to quickly navigate to those areas, simplifying your workflow.
- Lite Mode: Keep Lite Mode turned on to enhance CiraMail performance. It hides additional grid columns, allowing the system to run more efficiently.
9. Recommended Practices
- Use CiraMail Daily: For optimal results, use CiraMail as your primary tool for handling daily emails. This system is especially beneficial for those attributing emails, as it offers significant time savings.
- Multi-Select Tool: Process multiple similar emails simultaneously using the multi-select tool, which speeds up email management.
- Customize Your Experience: Adjust your reading pane and box list settings to match your workflow preferences. This flexibility can make your daily tasks more manageable and efficient.
CiraMail in the CiraNet Management Portal offers many tools and enhancements to streamline community management tasks. By using these pro tips, you can maximize efficiency, stay organized, and manage your email communications effectively. For more details, refer to the full CiraMail tutorial in the CiraHelp documentation.