How to Reply to an Email

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: July 28, 2024

This wikiHow teaches you how to send a reply to an email you received. This is possible on essentially every email provider, but common email services include Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, and Apple Mail, both for desktop users and mobile users.

Responding to an Email Message

To reply to an email, click the Reply button, which is usually at the top or bottom of the message. If you don't see Reply, look for a button with an arrow pointing to the left. This creates a new message that's already addressed to the sender. If the original message is included in your reply, type your response above or below the message, then click Send.

Method 1

Method 1 of 8:

Gmail on Desktop

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1
Open the Gmail website. Go to https://www.gmail.com/. This will open your Gmail inbox if you're already logged into Gmail on your computer.
- If you aren't already logged into Gmail, enter your Gmail email address and password before continuing.
Click on the email to which you want to respond. This will open it.

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3
Click the "Reply" arrow. It's in the top-right corner of the email. This will bring up a field where you can type in your reply to the specific person who sent the email.
- If you want to reply to everyone in a group email, instead click ▼ to the right of Reply, then click Reply to all in the drop-down menu.
Type in the response you want to send to the recipient(s).
It's a blue button below the bottom-left side of the reply field. Doing so will send the email to the person (or people) in the original email.

Method 2

Method 2 of 8:

Gmail on Mobile

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1
Open Gmail. Tap the Gmail app icon, which resembles a red "M" on a white envelope, to open your Gmail inbox.
- If you aren't signed into Gmail, first enter your email address and password.
Tap an email that you want to respond to. The email will open.
3
Scroll down and tap Reply or Reply all. Both options are at the bottom of the page. Tapping the Reply arrow will respond to the last person to send an email, while tapping Reply all will send your response to everyone in the email conversation.
- You won't see Reply all if the email is only between you and the sender.
It's directly below the email's subject line, which is near the top of the screen. Your phone's keyboard will appear.
Type in the reply that you want to send to the person or people in the conversation.
It resembles a blue paper airplane in the top-right corner of the screen. Doing so will send your response.

Method 3

Method 3 of 8:

Yahoo on Desktop

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Go to https://www.yahoo.com/. This will open the Yahoo home page.
It's an envelope-shaped icon in the top-right corner of the page.
3
Enter your email address and password. Type in your Yahoo email address, click Next, enter your password, and click Sign in. This will take you to your inbox.
- If you have recently logged into Yahoo, skip this step.
Click an email to which you want to reply. This will open the email.
5
Click the "Reply" arrow. It's the backward-facing arrow above the top-left side of the email. Doing so will open a field for you to enter your reply.
- If you want to reply to everyone in a group message at once, click the double arrow to the right of the "Reply" arrow instead.
Type in the response you want to send to the recipient(s).
It's a blue button below the bottom-left side of the reply field. Doing so will send the email to the person (or people) in the original email.

Method 4

Method 4 of 8:

Yahoo on Mobile

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1
Open Yahoo Mail. Tap the Yahoo Mail app icon, which resembles a white envelope and "YAHOO!" text on a purple background. This will open your Yahoo inbox.
- If you aren't signed into Yahoo Mail, first enter your Yahoo email address and password.
Tap an email to which you want to reply. This will open the email.
It's a backwards-facing arrow at the bottom of the screen. Doing so brings up a pop-up menu.
Both are options in the pop-up menu. Tapping Reply will respond to the sender of the email, while tapping Reply all will reply to all people in the email conversation.
Type in the reply that you want to send to the person (or people) in the email.
It's in the top-right corner of the screen. This will send your reply to the recipient(s).

Method 5

Method 5 of 8:

Outlook on Desktop

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1
Go to Outlook's website. Go to https://www.outlook.com/. This will open your Outlook inbox if you're already logged into Outlook.
- If you aren't logged into Outlook, click Sign In, then enter your email address and password to continue.
2
Select an email. Click the email that you want to reply to. This will open it on the right side of the Outlook page.
- You may have to click the Other tab at the top of your inbox to find the email you want, since Outlook opens to the Focused tab automatically.
3
Click Reply all. This button is in the top-right corner of the opened email. Doing so will open a field for you to reply to every person included in the email.
- If you just want to reply to the person who last responded to the email, click
  to the right of Reply all, then click Reply.
Type in the response you want to send to the recipient(s).
It's a blue button below the bottom-left side of the reply field. Doing so will send the email to the person (or people) in the original email.

Method 6

Method 6 of 8:

Outlook on Mobile

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1
Open Outlook. Tap the Outlook app icon, which resembles a white envelope on a dark-blue background. This will open your Outlook inbox.
- If you aren't logged into Outlook, enter your email address and password before continuing.
2
Select an email. Tap the email to which you want to respond. Doing so will open the email.
- You may first have to tap the Other tab at the top of the screen to find the email you want to reply to.
3
Tap Reply. It's a field at the bottom of the screen. This will bring up a text field where you can type a response to the person who sent the last email.
- You can also reply to everyone in the conversation by tapping ⋯ in the upper-right corner of the email and then tapping Reply all.
Type in your response to the email (or emails) in question.
It's a light-blue paper airplane icon in the bottom-right corner of the response field. This will send your email.

Method 7

Method 7 of 8:

Apple Mail on Desktop

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Go to https://www.icloud.com/. This will take you to the iCloud login page.
2
Sign into iCloud. Enter your Apple ID email address and password, then click →. Doing so will open your iCloud dashboard.
- If you've recently logged into iCloud on your browser, you may not have to sign in.
It's a blue icon with a white envelope on it. This will open your iCloud inbox.
Click the email to which you want to reply. Doing so opens the email on the right side of the iCloud window.
It's above the top-left corner of the email you opened. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
Both options are in the drop-down menu. Selecting Reply will send your response only to the last person to send an email in the conversation, while Reply All will respond to all members of the conversation. A new window will open for your response.
Type in the response you want to send to the recipient(s).
It's in the top-right corner of the email window. Doing so will send your response to the person (or people) in the original conversation.

Method 8

Method 8 of 8:

Apple Mail on iPhone

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Tap the Apple Mail icon, which resembles a white envelope on a light-blue background. This will open your Apple Mail app.
2
Tap Inbox. It's near the top of the Mail page. Doing so opens your inbox.
- If your Mail opens to the inbox, skip this step.
- If you have multiple inboxes attached to the Mail app, you may need to tap the "Back" arrow in the top-left side of the screen and then scroll to the inbox that holds the email you want to open.
Tap the email you want to respond to. This will open the email.
It's the backward-facing arrow at the bottom of the screen. A pop-up menu will appear.
Both are options in the pop-up menu. Tapping Reply will respond to the sender of the email, while tapping Reply All will reply to all people in the email conversation.
Type in your response to the email.
It's in the top-right corner of the screen. This will send your response.

Community Q&A

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Question

How can I edit a received email?

Community Answer

You don't. If you forward it to someone else, then you may be able to scroll down in the email chain to edit it. Some services allow this some don't.

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Question

If I get a questionnaire in an email, can I answer each question on the screen without printing it on paper and then scan it?

Community Answer

Most likely, yes. You can copy and paste the questions by using your mouse to highlight the entire questionnaire. Next, press the right button of your mouse or keypad, a box with options should appear, click "copy." You can then paste the questions in your return email, using the same steps, the only thing different is you press "paste." Now you don't have to write the questions and can just type your reply in the email. You can use your mouse or the arrow keys to tell the laptop when you want to begin typing.

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Tips

On most email sites and apps, there is a bar near the top of the email with a list of recipient names. You can usually tap or click this field to select it, allowing you to remove certain recipients after selecting Reply all.

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Warnings

Unnecessarily replying to everyone in an email thread is generally frowned upon. Unless you have to address everybody at once, replying specifically to the person with whom you need to communicate will usually be sufficient.

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