fixed : can I attach an edited online document (downloadable PDF) directly into an eMail ?

Posted on 11-08-2025 by MacManus.nl

Question :
I am witing an eMail to a service desk to get help on a product and I want to show them which part is broken in a drawing. I found an online document (a downloadable PDF) in which I can easily draw a circle arround the defective part. Do I just need to download the PDF onto my Mac, then draw the circle on it in Photoshop (or something) and then attach it to the eMail I am writing…

Or is there a faster way to do this ?

Answer :
The option you are describing is okay, but it can be done easier. So without having to save the PDF to your Mac first. To do so. do this :

– open Mail.app on your Mac and write the eMail
– then open Safari.app on your Mac and find the webpage with the online PDF that you would like to include in your eMail
– then in Safari.app, right/option-click on the document in your browser window and choose “Open with Preview” from the pop-up list and the PDF web page will be opened in Preview.app
– then, in Preview.app, click on the Markup-button (the icon of a circle with a tip of a pencil in it, in the menu bar of the picture preview window) to see the editing tools
– then, in Preview.app, draw the circle in the color you need onto the PDF
– when done, click on the Share-button (the icon of a square with an upward pointing arrow in it, in the menu bar of the [picture preview window)
– from the pull-down menu that appears, choose “Mail”
– now a new (nearly empty) eMail will open in Mail.app with just the (edited) PDF in it
– now click&hold on the PDF file and drag&drop it from the nearly-empty eMail into the eMail that you want to send out
– then, with the edited PDF attached, send out the eMail

That’s it !
enjoy 😉

Note : if you want to double check that it is actually the edited version that you are about to send out, just click on the PDF file in the ready-to-send eMail and you will see that the edited version of the PDF is opened in Preview.app

fixed : iOS Mail.app “Fetch New Data” settings page completely greyed out

Posted on 24-05-2023 by MacManus.nl

Question :

I have troubles with my eMail on my iPhone, so I started to look for solutions in the iOS Settings.app ; I don’t know if this is relevant for the solution to my mail-problem, but I found that when I try to adjust the settings for Fetch New Data (in the Settings.app > Mail > Accounts > scroll down to bottom) is turned OFF, and when I click on it the entire Fetch New Data settings page is greyed out, so I can’t switch it back ON and have my mail checked automatically…

What is wrong ? How can I fix this ?

Answer :

Relax, there’s nothing wrong… it’s just strange that iOS isn’t telling you why the entire page is greyed out and how you can fix this…
The thing is : your iPhone is in Low Power Mode (a.k.a. Battery Saving Mode)… (if you look closely, you will see that the battery indicator top right is yellow in stead of white or green)
To fix this, do this :

swipe down from the battery indicator top right
in the window that opens, scroll down to the white tile with the battery (in yellow) and click on it
now the tile wil turn dark and the battery will turn white
if there is no battery-tile, then go to Settings.app > Battery and switch the slider at Low Power Mode to ON
to check, go to Settings.app > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data and you will see that you can now set everything as you like

That’s it !
enjoy 😉

fixed : reconnecting Hotmail-account to macOS Mail-app after Microsoft account verification

Posted on 27-06-2022 by MacManus.nl

Question :

I have been abroad for some weeks and was using my MacBook and Hotmail-account there, and when I returned home, I could no longer connect to my Hotmail-account from macOS Mail-app… also, in my recovery/alternate eMail-address, I have gotten a warning eMail form the Microsoft account team that reads :

Microsoft account

Verify your account

We detected something unusual about a recent sign-in for the Microsoft account [your Hotmail address]. For example, you might be signing in from a new location, device, or app.

To help keep you safe, we’ve blocked access to your inbox, contacts list, and calendar for that sign-in. Please review your recent activity and we’ll help you secure your account. To regain access, you’ll need to confirm that the recent activity was yours.

[blue button reading “Review recent activity”]

Thanks,

The Microsoft account team

When I click the blue button to verify my Hotmail-account, everything seems to go okay, but when I tried to access my Hotmail-mailbox using the macOS Mail-app, I got an error message that the connection could not be made…

What can I do to fix this ?

Answer :

For some reason your Hotmail-account settings in macOS have been messed up.

To fix this, do this :

open Mail-app
click on “Mail” (top-left, next to the Apple icon in the macOS menu bar) and in the pulldown menu that appears, click on “Preferences”
in the window that opens, click on the Accounts-tab (in-between the “General” and “Junk Mail” tabs)
- NOTE : do NOT click on “Accounts” in the Mail-app pulldown menu !! …as clicking on “Accounts” from the Mail-app pulldown menu will take you to the “Internet Accounts” settings in System Preferences, and NOT to the Account settings in the Mail-app !! …the two are not the same !!
the window will now be names “Accounts” and show a list of your eMail-accounts on the left
in the list on the left, click on your Hotmail-account
then, click on the “Server Settings” tab, and correct your settings to this :
- Incoming Mail server (IMAP)
- User Name: [your Hotmail address]
- Password: [your Hotmail password]
- Host Name: map-mail.outlook.com
- [put checkmark in checkbox] Automatically manage connection settings
- “Advanced IMAP Settings”-button
- Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP)
- Account: smtp-mail.outlook.com
- User Name: [your Hotmail address]
- Password: [your Hotmail password]
- Host Name: smtp-mail.outlook.com
- [leave checkbox unchecked] Automatically manage connection settings
- Port: 25 [put checkmark in checkbox] Use TLS/SSL
- Authentication: Password
after having made sure your settings are okay, exit the Mail Preferences window by clicking on the red dot (top-left)
now, your Hotmail should work again as expected in Mail-app
- to check, you can send a test mail form a different mail-address to your Hotmail-account and vice-versa 😉

enjoy !

fixed : Login Failed error – new Mojave Mail.app can’t access Gmail hosted account

Posted on 26-04-2019 by MacManus.nl

Question :

Ever since installing macOS 10.14 Mojave I have only gotten my primary Gmail account up and running. My secondary Gmail account that I only want to use for eMail though macOS Mail.app still isn’t setup properly : I keep having a “Login Failed” warning displayed in the upper right corner of my All Mailboxes window and my mails are nog getting through…

How can I fix this ?

Answer :

macOS 10.14 Mojave has a new way of handling your eMail accounts compared to previous versions of macOS, OSX and MacOSX : it is no longer possible to setup any eMail accounts in Mail.app only ; any eMail account that you want to use in Mail.app must be entered as an account that is setup for macOS to be used systemwide.

To get rid of the “Login Failed” error, do this :

open Mail.app
go to Mail –> Accounts
this will open the Internet Accounts pane of System Preferences
there, select the failing eMail account (Gmail address or otherwise Google hosted eMail address) from the list on the left
since you only want to use this eMail account’s eMail services, make sure there is a checkmark at “Mail” and there is no checkmark at “Contacts”, “Calendars” or “Notes”
when done, close the window by clicking on the red button top left
then, back in the Mail.app’s main window (entitled “All Mailboxes” at the top) click on the “Login Failed” error message that is top right (just below the search field)
now Safari will open up a (Private) window entitled “Sign in with Google” as shown in the picture below

now, just allow macOS to access your Google account (exactly as you are asked to do)
then close the Safari window (since it’s a Private window, which is indicated by the URL field that is dark instead of the regular white colour, you should make sure you close the window as continuing in this or any Private window may prevent you from logging in to any of your favourite websites since no cookies are accepted)
back in Mail.app you will now see that the “Login Failed” error message is gone and that your secondary Gmail account is now receiving mail properly
that’s it 😉

enjoy !

fixed : best iPhone-app for DHL, UPS and PostNL track-and-trace in The Netherlands

Posted on 20-12-2018 by MacManus.nl

Question :

I live in The Netherlands and on my iPhone, I want to trace packages that will be delivered to me shortly.

The PostNL.app works perfectly, but it’s for PostNL shipments only…

The UPS.app works perfectly too (despite the privacy agreement is a little awkward), but it’s for UPS shipments only…

There are various apps in the Apps Store for DHL shipments, but none of them work for The Netherlands…

I’ve tried the iPhone-apps by Deliveries, ParcelTrack and 17track, but even though they are advertised as ‘perfect solutions’ in most countries, they fail for at least one of the main delivery services in The Netherlands…

Isn’t there any iOS-app that can track all mayor post & parcel delivery services like PostNL, UPS, DHL, GLS and TNT in The Netherlands ?

Answer :

Yes there is… but there’s only one : AfterShip.app [click to download]

…and it’s not perfect yet, it still needs a little more do-it-yourself than advertised :

the Auto Detect function doesn’t always select the proper delivery service, nor does it always include the proper delivery service in it’s short list of options, so (especially for DHL deliveries) you must always double-check the exact delivery service from your shipment confirmation eMail
there’s only one Title (or Description) field you can add to your Shipment-entry, so if you want to include both Sender and Content description (as you can in most other Track&Trace apps) you will have to combine those into only one line of info
the Edit option only allows you to edit the Title (a.k.a. Description) of your Shipment-entry, so… if you’ve erratically chosen (or guessed) the wrong delivery service, you will not be able to edit or correct it… you will have to delete the entire Shipment-entry and create/add a new, corrected one entirely…

But apart from that… it’s FREE and once you have picked the delivery services correctly, it works as expected ! (and that’s far better than any other Track&Trace app)

There are a few things to know :

TNT-shipments from Amazon UK and Amazon DE to The Netherlands : if your online Amazon account info lists TNT (or “TNT (Netherlands)”) as the delivery service, the actual shipment will be done by PostNL, so you’ll need to choose “PostNL Domestic” as the delivery service ; if in the “Verzendbevestiging” you have received through eMail, the fine print says “Je items worden verzonden door Post NL Pakketten.” the actual shipment will expedited be by PostNL Domestic, even if your online Amazon-shipment-info says something else !
DHL-shipments from Amazon DE to The Netherlands : if your online Amazon DE account info lists DHL (or “DHLNL”) or DHL_CONNECT as the delivery service, this will NOT be DHL Express or DHL Benelux (the ones suggested by AfterShip.app), this will usually be shipped using DHL Parcel NL ; in the “Verzendbevestiging” you have received though eMail, the fine print says “Je items worden verzonden door DHL NL Pakketten.” the actual shipment will be expedited by DHL Parcel NL, even if your online Amazon-shipment-info says something else !
DHL-shipments from Dutch resellers to addresses within The Netherlands will be usually expedited by “DHL Benelux” (and NOT by “DHL Express” or any other DHL branch)

enjoy !

fixed : “Your iCloud Account Settings Are Out Of Date” error in Windows 10 Mail app

Posted on 11-12-2017 by MacManus.nl

Question :

I have installed the iCloud application on my PC running Windows 10, and added my iCloud email-address to Windows Mail.app (or Outlook) without a problem, but now I keep getting an error message saying “Your iCloud Account Settings Are Out Of Date”… when I click on it, I get an option to have this fixed by Windows 10 itself, but then nothing happens… the problem remains, and I am not receiving any eMails in my iCloud mailbox…

I have checked on iCloud.com and my PC is listed as a registered device, and there is no error showing in the iCloud application on Windows either…

What can I do to fix this ?

Answer :

Somewhere during 2017 Apple has changed the security settings of the iCould services : it is now obligatory to enable two-factor-authentication on your iCloud account if you want to connect from any non-Apple device : from now on you will need to generate an application-specific password for Windows Mail.app (or Outlook)…

Here’s how to do that :

setup two-factor-authentication on your iCloud account as outlined here
then, make sure you have the iCloud for Windows application installed on your PC ; if you need to reinstalled it, you can download it here
then, make sure you have the iCloud for Windows application setup properly ; open the iCloud for Windows application and make sure there is a checkmark at “Mail” (and at “Contacts”, “Calendars” and “Tasks” if you want to sync those also)
then, make sure you have added your iCloud mailbox to Windows Mail.app (or Outlook) ; if it’s not listed, add it (again)
then, generate an application specific password as outlined here
then, make sure that you input the application specific password you have just generated as the password for your iCloud mailbox in the Windows Mail.app (or Outlook) Settings

That’s it !

NOTE : do NOT use your regular iCloud-password for Windows Mail.app (or Outlook) any longer, it won’t work.

enjoy 😉

fixed : set IMAP eMail for KPN Planet.nl, Telfort.nl and T-Mobile Online.nl

Posted on 01-09-2013 by MacManus.nl

Question :

I am using a KPN Planet.nl eMail-account on my Mac, my iPad and my iPhone, but when I open (or delete) an eMail on one device, the same eMail will remain unread on my other devices, so I have to redo all actions I do with my eMail on all three devices. That’s a complete waist of time and enormously annoying ! Isn’t there any way to get around this ?

Answer :

Yes there is !

A little background info :

Internet-hosting providers used to give free eMail-hosting with your subscription. In the days that most people only had internet-access from only one computer and one location (home), the POP3-protocol was a good way to handle this and every internet provider therefore offered POP3-eMail services…

…nowadays most people have multiple internet devices and want to access the same eMail-account/mailbox from all those devices. With POP3 that is possible, but it comes with the problem you’re describing…

The best way to get around this problem is to use an IMAP-eMail service (like Gmail) or wait until your local internet-provider also supports IMAP-eMail…

When using an IMAP-eMail service, al your devices will have the same read/unread/deleted-info instantly synced over the internet.

In the Netherlands, internet providers like Wanadoo/Orange/T-Mobile/Online and Tiscali/Telfort have only recently added IMAP-support, but especially KPN Planet Internet (who used to be the no. 1 internet provider in the Netherlands) has always denied IMAP on their eMail-services… until now…

So…

Here’s the settings info you’ll need :

Online.nl (successor to Wanadoo.nl & Orange.nl)

– incoming (IMAP) mailserver : imap.online.nl [port 143 ; needs SSL]

– outgoing (SMTP) mailserver : smtp.online.nl [port 25 ; no SSL & no TLS]

Telfort.nl (including Tiscali.nl)

– incoming (IMAP) mailserver : imap.telfort.nl [port 143 ; possibly no SSL]

– outgoing (SMTP) mailserver : smtp.telfort.nl [port 25 ; no SSL & no TLS]

Planet.nl

– incoming (IMAP) mailserver : imap.kpnmail.nl [port 143 ; seems to need SSL]

– outgoing (SMTP) mailserver : mail.kpnmail.nl [port 25 ; no SSL & no TLS]

And here’s the recommended way to upgrade your mailboxes from POP3 to IMAP :

1- first, upgrade on your computer (Mac/PC) :

– 1A – in your eMail app’s account preferences, set your POP/POP3-account to inactive (delete the check-mark in front of “enable this account”) ; not entirely deleting this account will enable you to get (really) old eMails back if you might unexpectedly need them in the future

– 1B – add a new eMail account, name it something like “your eMail address” + “IMAP”, and use the mailserver-settings mentioned above ; for the login-name and password, you should use exactly the same as previously used for your POP/POP3-account

– 1C – exit the preferences window by pressing the small red button, and confirm that you want to save these changes

2- only then, upgrade the eMail-settings on your iPhone and iPad :

– 2A – go into “Settings”, then “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”, select the small arrow right next to your previous POP/POP3-mail account, and in the next screen click the red button “Delete Account”

– 2B – then restart your iPhone/iPad by pressing the HOME-button and the ON/OFF-button at the same time until the Apple-logo appears on screen

– 2C – after that, go into “Settings”, then “Mail, Contacts, Calendars” again, and add a new eMail account, name it something like “your eMail address” + “IMAP”, and use the mailserver-settings mentioned above ; for the login-name and password, you should use exactly the same as previously used for your POP/POP3-account

Note that for KPN Planet.nl you will probably end up with the wrong (automatically generated) settings for mail severs, password and login-name since KPN Planet.nl has always chosen to use it’s own, highly unconventional settings… so you will have to manually edit those (again) after the account has been created…

…if your iPhone/iPad keeps trying to record the IMAP-seetings as a POP-account, just try again… (starting at 2A)

That’s it !

Enjoy !

😉

MacManus.nl

helping hundreds of happy Applers each day

Tag Archives: mail

fixed : can I attach an edited online document (downloadable PDF) directly into an eMail ?

fixed : iOS Mail.app “Fetch New Data” settings page completely greyed out

fixed : reconnecting Hotmail-account to macOS Mail-app after Microsoft account verification

fixed : best iPhone-app for DHL, UPS and PostNL track-and-trace in The Netherlands

fixed : “Your iCloud Account Settings Are Out Of Date” error in Windows 10 Mail app

fixed : set IMAP eMail for KPN Planet.nl, Telfort.nl and T-Mobile Online.nl

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