Reading and writing

What Kestrel does with a message once it's open: translating it, showing its files, keeping its trackers out, leaving its mailing list, and sharing it as a picture. And how to dictate instead of typing.

Translate a message#

A message in a language other than your Mac's own has Translate beside its date. Click it, or press ⇧ T on the message you're on, and the message shows in your language; Show Original and ⇧ T switch back. Only the message itself is translated, not the history it quotes.

Translation runs on your Mac with Apple's translation, so the text goes nowhere. The first time you translate from a language, macOS may ask to download it. Kestrel offers Translate once there's enough text to tell the language, so a one-line message may not have it.

Files and photos#

A message's files sit under it, each with its name and size. Click one to look at it in Quick Look without saving it anywhere; the arrow keys move to the message's other files once Kestrel has downloaded them. Right-click a file for Open, which saves it to your Downloads folder and opens it in its app.

Photos you receive also show as pictures under the message, up to four of them. Click one to see it in Quick Look.

Images and tracking pixels#

Many senders hide a tiny image in their mail that tells them when you open it. Block Tracking Pixels, on by default in Settings → Images, takes those images out before a message loads, even when its other images load. Kestrel looks for images from known open-tracking services, and for images that are hidden or a couple of pixels in size. When a message had some, an eye with a line through it and the number Kestrel stopped sits beside its date; hold the pointer on it to read "2 trackers blocked".

Other remote images, such as logos and photos, load from the sender's servers, which can also tell the sender when and where you opened the message. To stop that, turn off Show Remote Images in the same panel.

Unsubscribe#

Mail from a mailing list has Unsubscribe under its subject. Click it or press ⌘ U, and Kestrel leaves the list the way the list asks, then takes the conversation out of your inbox:

• If the list takes a one-click request, Kestrel sends it in the background.
• If the list wants an email, Kestrel sends one from your account, with no signature.
• If the list offers only a web page, or the other ways fail, Kestrel opens the page in your browser to finish there.

A short message says which it was: "Unsubscribed from …", or "Opened …'s unsubscribe page".

Screenshot Message#

Screenshot Message (Beta) shares one email as a picture, with personal details hidden. Press ⌥ ⌘ S, or click the camera that shows beside the reply buttons when the pointer is on a message. The picture holds that message only, without the history it quotes, and never loads its tracking pixels.

• Hide Personal Details, on to start with, stars out every email address, every phone number and the names of the people on the From, To and Cc lines.
• Blur Pictures blurs the images in the message.
• Light and Dark pick the look.
• Black Bar, Highlight and Star Words are the tools: drag over the message to cover a part of it, mark it, or star out the words under it. ⌘ Z takes back the last one.

Add a note under the message if you like, then Copy (⌘ C) the picture, Save… it, or Share it.

Dictate#

Press ⌘ ⇧ D wherever you're typing, in a new message, a reply or Write with AI, and speak. The words show at the bottom of the window as Kestrel hears them; press ⌘ ⇧ D again to put them where the caret was, or Esc to stop without them. Punctuation is added for you.

Speech is recognised on your Mac, never on Apple's servers, in your Mac's first language. The first time, macOS asks to let Kestrel use the microphone and speech recognition. If Kestrel says to turn on Dictation, do that in System Settings → Keyboard, so your Mac can recognise your language itself.