I am currently using Kontact version 6.5.1 (25.08.1) on Kubuntu 25.10.
I often need to send emails to a similar group of recipients. I’ve learnt how to create, edit and delete mailing lists/groups, but I don’t know how to use them.
How do I send an email to all members of a mailing list/group?
You don’t use contact groups through a separate “Send to group” action.
In KMail, a group/distribution list is supposed to be used directly as a recipient when composing a message. Create a new mail, then either type the group name into the To/Cc/Bcc field or select it from the recipient picker. KMail should expand the group members automatically when sending.
If entering the group results in something like <groupname>@hostname, or the group appears empty even though it contains contacts in KAddressBook, then that’s not normal usage failure. That’s usually an Akonadi/KAddressBook integration problem, and unfortunately distribution lists have had a long history of breakage in various KMail/Kontact releases.
For Kontact 6.5.1, first verify that:
Under normal conditions, you should only need to enter the group name as the recipient. There is no separate workflow beyond that.
Thank you for your quick reply!
Unfortunately, I’m getting a message saying that the address doesn’t contain a “.”
The group in KAddressBook does indeed contain contacts with valid email addresses.
How can I tell if the address book containing the group is enabled in KMail? I’m getting email addresses from KAddressBook suggested in KMail.
How can I tell if Akonadi is running properly? akonadictl status says
Akonadi Control: running
Akonadi Server: running
Akonadi Server Search Support: available (Remote Search)
Available Agent Types: akonadi_archivemail_agent, akonadi_birthdays_resource, akonadi_contacts_resource, akonadi_davgroupware_resource, akonadi_ews_resource, akonadi_ewsmta_resource, akonadi_followupreminder_agent, akonadi_google_resource, akonadi_ical_resource, akonadi_icaldir_resource, akonadi_imap_resource, akonadi_indexing_agent, akonadi_kolab_resource, akonadi_maildir_resource, akonadi_maildispatcher_agent, akonadi_mailfilter_agent, akonadi_mailmerge_agent, akonadi_mbox_resource, akonadi_migration_agent, akonadi_mixedmaildir_resource, akonadi_newmailnotifier_agent, akonadi_openxchange_resource, akonadi_pop3_resource, akonadi_sendlater_agent, akonadi_unifiedmailbox_agent, akonadi_vcard_resource, akonadi_vcarddir_resource
Does file search also need to be enabled in Kubuntu’s System Settings, or is that something else? Just filenames or filecontents as well?
Thanks for the details.
Since KMail is already suggesting contacts from KAddressBook, and Akonadi appears to be running normally, I don’t think the problem is related to Akonadi being stopped or the address book being unavailable.
I also don’t believe Kubuntu file search indexing should affect contact groups or distribution lists.
When you add the group as a recipient, what exactly happens before the error appears?
The reason I’m asking is that there have been cases where KMail could see a group but failed to resolve it into its member addresses, treating the group name itself as an email address instead.
Could you provide a screenshot of the recipient field after selecting the group, before pressing Send?
Yes.
Not in KMail.
In KAddressBook, an editing dialogue opens where I can search, edit or delete addresses.
Yes! Eureka! I can’t insert the mailing list/group, but I can select and add the addresses in the list all at once. That’s a workaround for me.
Thank you for your patient help!
Nevertheless, I’m happy to help. So if you need information to actually solve the problem, please let me know.
I’ve just realised that not all lists/groups can be added in KMail (2 addresses: yes, 12 addresses: no). In KAddressBook, all lists/groups can be edited.