> For the complete user guide index, see [llms.txt](https://portraitresearch.com/documentation/llms.txt).

# Use the email-only Easel trial

[Canonical page](https://portraitresearch.com/documentation/integrations/email-trial/)

## Applicability

- **Task:** Start an email-only trial, continue in the same thread, and understand approval and message limits without app access.
- **Access:** Approved email-only trial identity; available trial messages
- **Audience:** Portrait users and support teams
- **Surfaces:** email
- **Availability:** Account-dependent; see requirements and limits
- **Content type:** how-to
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-09-24

The email-only trial lets an approved sender ask Easel research questions and receive the answer in email. **This trial does not include access to the Portrait app.** Being unable to sign in or open My Library is therefore expected, not evidence of a broken account.

## Start and continue

1. Send your question to [easel@portraitresearch.com](mailto:easel@portraitresearch.com).
2. If the reply says Portrait is confirming access, wait. If approved, the answer will arrive in the same thread, usually within a business day. There is no need to resend the question. If you wrote from a personal address, the reply says Easel is first confirming who you are; the same wait applies, and writing in from a work address is the fastest way to get an answer.
3. Read the answer in the email and its delivered attachments. Reply in that thread with a follow-up to continue.
4. Check the message counter in the reply before sending further research questions.

The current trial allowance is **five messages**. The counter in your reply is the applicable record; this is a message allowance, not the web app's fixed Easel session allowance or a renewing credit balance. Reconnecting or starting another thread does not reset it.

## Verify the trial response

Confirm that the answer arrived in the original thread, the message counter is shown, and the body or delivered attachments contain the result. A pending approval message is not a completed research answer. If a promised attachment is missing, reply with the filename and request an accessible replacement.

## When the trial is exhausted

If the reply says all trial messages have been used or the trial is no longer available, reply in the same thread to discuss continued access with the Portrait team. Do not try to recover the allowance by signing into the app or creating duplicate trials.

“Today's trial capacity” is a separate admission limit. If that is the message you receive, follow its instruction to try again tomorrow. Waiting until tomorrow does not reset an exhausted five-message trial.

## Files and inaccessible links

Ask for a self-contained answer in the email body and, when appropriate, an eligible attached file. Internal Portrait links to a library, project, or saved conversation are not a usable delivery path for an email-only identity. If a reply directs you to My Library or a file failed to attach, reply in the thread and ask for the content in the body or a supported, smaller attachment. You do not need app sign-in to continue the trial.

The email bridge's [attachment limits](https://portraitresearch.com/documentation/integrations/portrait-email/#send-attachments) apply. File generation and attachment delivery are separate: verify that the promised file actually arrived. Do not assume that a named or saved file was attached.

## Troubleshoot

Check spam or quarantine for a missing reply. If the message is pending approval, avoid duplicate submissions. If the answer is incomplete because an attachment could not be read or delivered, state the affected filename and ask for a supported format or a short answer in the body. For access help, continue in the same thread; never include sign-in links or credentials.