FYI holds information related to an email in the Drawer, accessed from within FYI or from Outlook.
Whenever you select an email in a list in FYI, this displays the Drawer on the right-hand side.
To access the FYI Drawer from within Outlook, simply click on the FYI icon. The location of the icon will depend on the version of Outlook installed on your machine. Refer to Displaying the Drawer in FYI, Outlook and Office.
When creating an email in FYI, you add the filing details in the drawer.
Note: In Outlook, the FYI Drawer is used slightly differently than when used in FYI. It includes a Comments icon that is used to add and display Comments. Refer to Using the Tools at the Top of the Drawer in Managing Emails from Outlook and to Adding and Displaying Comments from Outlook or Office in Adding Comments and Notifying Team Members.
The Drawer gives a focused view of all the information, functions, and features that are available for that email.
The sections and options that are included in the Drawer, and how they are used, may vary depending on whether you are creating an email, editing a draft email or looking at an existing email. There may also be different options available depending on the selections you have made (such as once a Client or Cabinet has been selected).
For an existing email, the Drawer is where you can:
- Change the Name of the email
- Update Filing information
- View or add Tasks related to the email
- View the Email Thread.
- Display recent Activity related to the email
- Access Recent Documents created for the client
- Display email addresses for People associated with the email
- Preview the email
- Add Comments for your team
- Initiate, view or change a Workflow related to the email
- View or add Time information
- Mark an email as Starred for easy access
Email Drawer Sections
To expand a section in the drawer, click the section heading or the down arrow in the heading.
The following is an example of the Drawer that displays for an email that has been filed in FYI.
Selecting Another Email in the List when the Drawer is Displayed
When the drawer is displayed for an email, you can select another email or document by clicking on it in the list. The drawer stays open and displays the details of the newly selected email/document.
- If you have expanded a section in the drawer, the section stays expanded in the drawer for the newly selected email/document.
- If you have displayed the Preview or Editor pane, this stays open for the newly selected email/document.
- If you have displayed the Comments pane, this stays open for the newly selected email/document.
- You can use the Back button in the drawer to re-display the previously displayed email/document. Refer below to Using the Back Button in the Drawer.
Name
For an existing email, the Name is displayed at the top of the drawer. This identifies the document internally and is the name that displays in the lists in FYI.
To change the Name, click the Name field, make the change and click the Tick icon to save the change (or click the X icon to not save the change).
Filing
The Filing section of the Drawer displays filing information for the selected email. You can add or change this information to re-file it in FYI.
Client - Type at least three characters of the client name to display all clients containing those characters, then click to select the required client. Refer also to Selecting a Client in the Filing Details and Refreshing the Clients. To change the client an email has been filed to, click in the Client Field and begin typing to display a client list. Click to select the required new client.
When creating an email in FYI (with the + button in the menu bar or using the Share button), once the client has been selected, the fields that display depend on whether the client has Filing Defaults set for Cabinet and Category, or if you have a Filing Default selected or if Filing Defaults are set at the Practice level. If a template is selected, the Cabinet and Categories may change depending on whether default categories have been set up for the template. Refer to Setting Defaults and Filing Defaults for your own Login - My Settings, Setting Filing Defaults for a Client, Email AutoFile Settings Exclusions and Practice Filing Defaults and to Creating Email Templates and Signatures.
Cabinet - As relevant, select the Cabinet or change the default that has been added.
When the Client and Cabinet have been selected, further defaults and options display. For example, some or all of the following will display, depending on the Client and Cabinet selected.
- Job - If Jobs are enabled for the selected Cabinet, this may indicate a Job for the client. Refer to the section Jobs and Setting Up Jobs in FYI.
-
Categories - the filing Category/Categories for the email, such as Year and Work Type.
The Category options that are available may be filtered according to the Cabinet selected (refer to Conditional/Filtered Categories in Managing Categories). The Category selected controls the options that can be selected and the order in which these display in the drawer. - Tags and Keywords- If the selected Cabinet has been enabled for this feature, you can create or select Tags and/or enter one or more Keywords to use as additional categorisation and to use when searching for the email. Refer to Tags and Keywords.
Note: When filing the email from Outlook, if you want FYI to remember the filing location for this client for the next time, you can click the Save as Client Default link. Refer to Setting Filing Defaults for a Client from Outlook.
Other Sections in the Drawer
When opening an existing email, the rest of the information displays in sections in the drawer as detailed below.
Thread
If the email is part of a thread, these emails display in the Thread section. Refer to Managing Email Threads.
Attachments
Where attachments to the email have been filed, they appear as links in the Attachments section. You can open an attachment by clicking the Open icon next to it.
If the email is filed and the attachment has not yet been filed, it will show as “Draft Filed”. Refer to Filing Email Attachments.
When creating an email, clicking Add Document displays the Document Search where you can search for and one or more documents from FYI. You can select how you want to send the attachment and if you want to include the attachment as a PDF. Refer to Adding Attachments to an Email in FYI.
Tasks
If any tasks have been created for that email, they are listed in the Tasks section. You can also add a new task from this section. Refer to Displaying Tasks from an Email or Document and Adding a Task to an Email or Document.
Time
The Time section shows any Time that has been recorded for the email. You can add Time that relates to the email by clicking Add Time. Refer to Time Overview.
For practices on the Elite plan, to start an active Timer for the Email click Add Time and then Start Timer. Refer to Creating Time using the Timer.
Workflow
The Workflow functions in FYI allow emails and documents to be managed through their life cycle. Setting the Workflow for emails would usually only be relevant for a draft email where you are using the FYI workflow functions for Email Approval. Refer to Using the Workflow for Approval - Examples.
Activity
The Activity section shows the automatic log of all major events that have occurred on the email including when it was created, any modifications, edits, etc. The Activity includes the date and time of the activity and the name of the user who completed it.
When an email or document has been auto-filed, the Activity section includes details of this and shows how any Filing Defaults were applied. In the following example, the Activity section shows that the email was sent to the In Tray (using the Practice Settings of AutoFile and In Tray Review) and then filed using the Filing defaults set for the user and the name of that user.
Recent Documents
The Recent Documents section in the Drawer is a list of the 10 most recent emails and documents created for the client. You can click on an email or document in the Recent Document section to open it.
People
The People section displays the email addresses of People included in the From: To: and Cc: of the email.
Note: This is for emails included in FYI since 6 September 2019.
For Draft emails, this displays the email address(s) that have been selected for To, CC and BCC and these can be changed if needed. For draft emails, the sender is not included as the email may be sent by a different person to the one who created it.
Upload
This would not commonly be used for Emails, but the Upload section can be used to upload a new version. For example, if the email has been exported and changed outside of FYI and then you need to upload the new version to FYI. Refer to Uploading a New Version of a Document.
Preview
You can display a snapshot of the contents of an email by clicking the Preview tab on the side of the Drawer. Refer to Previewing an Email.
Comments
Comments can be added to an email by any team member. These can be used to add any notes and also allow team members to collaborate on an email. Refer to Adding Comments and Notifying Team Members.
Note: When using the FYI Drawer from Outlook, Comments are added and displayed using the Comments icon at the top of the drawer.
Using the Tools at the Top of the Drawer
At the top of the Drawer are the tools Add Task, Add Time, Starred, Support Request and Copy Doc Link.
- Click the Add Task icon to add a new Task for the selected email. For emails, this is only available if the email has been filed in FYI. Refer to Adding a Task to an Email or Document.
- Click the Add Time icon to add Time information. Refer to Time Overview.
- You can mark an email as Starred, or Unstarred with the Starred icon in the Drawer. This allows you to mark specific documents that you personally want to be able to access easily. Refer to Marking and Displaying Starred Documents. Starred functions are available for practices on the Intermediate and Pro plan. Refer to Subscribing to an FYI Plan.
- Click the Support Request icon to send a Support Request that automatically adds a link to the relevant email so that FYI Support have access to the area on which you are requesting support. Refer to Sending a Support Request.
- Click Copy Doc Link to create a Doc Link to the email and send this to any internal team member. Refer to Copying, or Inserting, and Opening a Document Link.
Note: The Copy Doc Link in the drawer copies the link so the email is opened as a Preview.
Using the Back Button in the Drawer
When the drawer is displayed for an email, you can select another email or document by clicking it in the list and this leaves the drawer open with the details of the newly selected email/document.
At the top of the Email drawer the Back button can be used to re-display in turn the previously selected email or document in that list.
The history of which emails/documents are displayed with the Back button is held until the drawer is closed.