Sending Correspondence

The composer merges a template, lets you edit it, and sends the email through Microsoft 365 — recording both the sent message and a rendered copy in the request's correspondence log automatically. You reach it from a request's Requestor tab (Send correspondence, addressed to the requestor) or from a consultation's Correspondence sub-tab (Send notice…, addressed to a third party). The recipient lane is fixed by where you launched from — there is no lane picker.

(screenshot placeholder — capture: the composer with a template merged into the subject and body, the Send from selector, and the attachment list with the size meter)

Sending a Message

1. Confirm the recipient. On the requestor lane the name and email show at the top (a warning appears if no email is on file). On the third-party lane, pick the consulted party from the dropdown — parties without an email are disabled as recipients.
2. Choose Send from — your own mailbox (the default) or the tenant's shared mailbox. This choice appears only when a shared sender is configured; otherwise a line confirms the message is going from your mailbox.
3. Pick a template (or start blank). Selecting one merges it, filling in the subject and body with the request's tokens resolved. Choosing a party re-merges so party tokens reflect that recipient.
4. Optionally choose a letterhead or merge template for the rendered PDF copy.
5. Edit the subject and message. Rich-formatting templates show their HTML source for editing.
6. Add attachments. By default only submitted documents and working files are listed; use the search box, the type filter, or Show all document types to widen the set. A size meter warns when the selection exceeds the send ceiling (about 3.5 MB) — share large packages by link instead. Composer-generated correspondence can never be re-attached.
7. Select Send.

The PII Firewall

The composer runs a PII firewall on token replacement, so a third-party notice never leaks the requestor's identity into a letter going to someone else. A missing recipient email is a validation error and nothing is sent. If Microsoft 365 itself fails the send, nothing is recorded and the error is shown verbatim.

Logging Correspondence Without Sending

The Log correspondence panel records communications that happened outside the composer. Set the direction, channel, and date, then pick a capture method:

• Attach from my mailbox — browse Outlook and capture the message as a rendered .eml plus its attachments.
• Attach a file — upload a document you already have.
• Generate letter — render a PDF letter and attach it to the request (no send; download it from the in-panel success link).
• Notes only — record the fact of the communication with no file.

On the third-party lane a Purpose selector appears: choosing Third-party notice records the entry as the statutory notice and drives the consultation clock, so logging the notice here starts the deadlines just as sending it would. Every logged item opens as a correspondence record.

(screenshot placeholder — capture: the Log correspondence panel showing the capture-method choices and, on the third-party lane, the Purpose selector)