The Email module lets people raise work by email and keeps everyone named on an engagement informed. Lintel reads a mailbox you choose, works out what each email is and creates a draft marked “from email” for a person to review. Anything unclear, or from someone not on your list, waits in the inbox. Outgoing emails carry a reference, so a reply is added to the same record. Tenant admins set it up under Email intake; architects use the inbox.
Email intake
The admin page that sets up the mailbox and the rules. It shows whether intake is on, when the mailbox was last checked, how many emails are waiting in the inbox and how many drafts need review.
Work down the page in order: the mailbox, who is allowed, how sure the model must be, how Lintel sends mail, update emails, and the approved-versions cards. Press Save at the end, then use Try it to test. Only tenant admins can change these settings.
Mailbox
The mailbox Lintel reads. Use one that only Lintel reads, for example requests@your-domain.
- Tick Read this mailbox.
- Enter the mail server (IMAP), the connection type and port.
- Enter the user name and password.
- Set the folder, usually the inbox.
Lintel marks mail it has read as seen and never deletes or moves it. The password is stored encrypted and never shown again; leave the box blank to keep it, or tick Remove the saved password.
Who can raise requests by email
Lintel only creates new records from senders you list. Enter domains (for example your organisation’s) or single addresses, one per line or separated by commas. A reply to an email Lintel sent is always added to its record.
Tick Only trust a sender the receiving mail server has verified (recommended). Anyone can forge a From address; this stops them using an allowed one. Mail from anyone else goes to the inbox for a person to judge.
How sure the model must be
The model that reads each email gives a confidence figure. When it is at least the minimum you set, Lintel creates a draft for review; below it, the email waits in the inbox for a person.
- Enter a number from 0 to 100.
- 100 sends everything to the inbox.
- Start high while you build trust, then lower it.
Drafts are always marked “from email” and reviewed by a person, so a lower setting saves time rather than skipping the check. This needs AI assistance to be set up.
Emails Lintel sends about records
Optionally choose the address and name Lintel sends from. If you leave them blank it uses the platform’s address.
Use an address on your own domain that your mail setup allows Lintel to send from, so messages are not marked as spam. Every outgoing email ends with a reference, and replies carrying that reference are added to the record, whoever sends them.
Update emails to stakeholders
Whenever an engagement changes (stage, notes, requirements, RAID items or history), Lintel emails the people listed on it, one email per update, each with an unsubscribe link.
- On the live site there is no limit on who is emailed.
- On a test or staging site Lintel only emails addresses at the domains you list, so test data cannot email real people. If the list is empty, only the platform operator’s domain is used.
See Stakeholders for how people are added.
Approved versions from staging
This card appears on the live site. When the staging site emails its list of module versions it has tried, Lintel adds them to this site’s approved list as soon as the email arrives.
- Enter the staging site’s sending address.
- Press Save.
Only version names and numbers travel, never code, and versions are only added, never removed. Each addition is recorded in the audit log. The email is only applied when it comes from that address and the mail server has verified it. Choosing to run a version is still a separate step under Modules and licences.
Approved versions for live
This card appears on a staging or test site. Enter the live site’s Lintel mailbox address and Lintel will email it the list of module versions tried here.
The live site adds the versions to its approved list automatically, provided it has this site’s sending address saved under Approved versions from staging. Only names and version numbers are sent. This is for when live is on a different server and cannot see what was tried here.
Try it
Checks the setup. The platform reads every organisation’s mailbox on a schedule, about every five minutes, but you can check sooner.
- Test the connection confirms Lintel can sign in to the mailbox.
- Check the mailbox now reads new mail straight away.
Save your settings first. If the test fails, the page shows the last problem; the usual causes are a wrong server, port or password.
Email inbox
The inbox for emails Lintel could not act on by itself, and a history of everything sent and received. It is for architects. Use the tabs to switch views.
- Waiting: needs a person to decide.
- Drafts to review: records Lintel created from email that nobody has reviewed yet.
- Dealt with and Everything.
Each row shows when, who from, the subject, the status and why Lintel decided what it did. Select a subject to open it. If intake is off, a notice tells you; a tenant admin can set it up.
An email in the inbox
Opening an email shows who it is from, when, why Lintel treated it as it did, any attachments and the text. If it became a record, Open the record takes you there.
For an email still waiting, a card offers what to do with it; see What should happen to it?. Emails from Lintel itself are shown the same way, so you can see exactly what was sent.
Attachments
Files that came with the email. Select a name to download it; the size is shown.
If Lintel could not read the text of an attachment, it says so, and the file is kept as it arrived. Treat attachments from unknown senders with care and check them before opening.
Module versions approved in staging
This appears on the live site when an email carries a list of module versions tried in staging. The list shows each module and its versions, nothing else; no code travels by email.
Check it is what you expect and that the module files have been uploaded to this site, then a tenant admin presses Commit these approved versions. Committing only adds to the approved list and is recorded in the audit log. If the sender is trusted and verified, the list may already have been applied automatically.
What the model suggested
For an email the model has read, this shows the kind it thinks it is, its confidence and a summary. It also notes any requirements, people and RAID items it found, which are added as drafts if you raise the email as an engagement.
It is only a suggestion. Nothing is created from it unless the status says so, and a person always decides.
What should happen to it?
For an email waiting in the inbox, choose one outcome.
- Raise it as an engagement: check the title, then press the button.
- Log it in RAID: choose the kind (risk, assumption, issue or dependency) and a title. Needs the RAID module.
- Add it to an existing record: enter its reference, for example ENG-0001 or RAID-0001.
- Ignore it.
Whatever you choose is recorded. Items raised this way are marked as from email so they are easy to find and review.
On an engagement, the Email card lists emails sent and received about it. Staff who may see the inbox can open each one.
To send one, open Send an email about this engagement, check the recipient (it starts with the sponsor’s address), the subject and your message, then press Send. Lintel adds a reference, so when the person replies, their reply is added to the engagement. See An engagement.
Stakeholders
On an engagement, the list of people with an interest: name, role, organisation, how involved they are and whether they were entered by hand or picked up from an email (marked unreviewed).
- Open Add a person, enter a name, and optionally an email, role and organisation.
- Choose their involvement and press Add.
Everyone listed with an email address receives update emails when the engagement changes. People picked up from emails should be checked before they are relied on.
Update emails from Lintel
Every update email contains an unsubscribe link, which opens this page. Choose what to stop.
- Stop emails about the engagement, if the link came from one.
- Stop all Lintel emails for your organisation.
It works without signing in and applies straight away; the page confirms what was stopped. This only affects emails to that address. An administrator can add the address back to an engagement later.
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