The folks at Funn Media, creators of popular apps like Calory and WaterMinder, have released a new app dubbed ReplyCube that taps into support for extensions in Apple Mail. The app aims to speed up email management by letting you create reusable messages, commonly referred to as “canned” messages, then access those messages right from the compose window in the Mail app.
How ReplyCube uses Mail app extensions on the Mac
Apple initially added support for Mail app extensions with macOS Monterey. Unfortunately, the adoption of the feature has been pretty slow, especially in comparison to Safari extensions. ReplyCube, however, uses support for Mail extensions on the Mac to its advantage.
ReplyCube is based around a standalone application, which is where you create and manage reusable email responses and text snippets. The app allows you to create messages, filter to view certain types of messages and organize them across different categories. ReplyCube’s built-in text editor supports standard formatting options, plus support for images and files.
The standalone app for ReplyCube is simple for a reason, as its primary purpose is for creating and managing these canned responses and categories.
Where ReplyCube shines, however, is with the Mail app extensions. This is where you’ll most commonly interact with ReplyCube.
To enable the ReplyCube extension in the Apple Mail app on your Mac, simply click the “Mail” header in the menu bar, click “Settings,” then “Extensions.” You should see ReplyCube listed in the sidebar, and you can tick the checkbox to enable it. Now, you should see the ReplyCube icon at the top of the compose window when you’re sending or replying to an email.
Clicking on the ReplyCube icon brings up a detailed view of the canned responses you created in the standalone ReplyCube app. There are two ways to add one of these templates to your email. First, you can click the “copy” icon and then manually paste the response into the Mail app compose window. You can also drag a response from the ReplyCube popup right into the Mail app compose window.
ReplyCube also includes apps for iPhone and iPad. These apps let you create and manage your canned responses; you can also copy and paste those responses from the ReplyCube app to the Mail app. The Mail app on iPhone and iPad doesn’t support extensions, which is why you have to use the standalone app to copy and paste your responses.
9to5Mac’s Take
I’m a big fan of Funn Media’s apps, and ReplyCube is an excellent new utility for Mail app users. Not everyone has a need for something like this in their workflow, but if you’re someone that does, ReplyCube is a great way to speed up email management. Other email platforms like Gmail offer similar features built-in, but ReplyCube brings the functionality to Apple Mail.
Funn Media, for instance, says that its motivation for creating ReplyCube was to help manage customer support responses. The company can now store the most common canned responses in MailCube and easily access them right from the Mail app extension.
I can already think of multiple ways I’m going to implement ReplyCube into my workflow. Having quick access to these types of canned replies can help me manage editorial pitches as well as sponsorship inquiries and management. Not only will ReplyCube make it easier for me to respond to these messages, but it also means I’ll be able to reply to more emails that I might have previously ignored.
ReplyCube is available on the App Store as a free download with a seven-day trial. From there, the app uses a subscription model with $1.49 per month or $9.99 per year. If you’re the type of person who can save a lot of time using ReplyCube, you should easily see a return on that subscription investment.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
