How to Connect Gmail, Outlook or SMTP to Send Form Emails from Your Own Address

Send Formester emails (notifications, autoresponders, workflow emails and more) from your own Gmail, Outlook or SMTP mailbox. You can connect the mailbox right where you pick the sender, without leaving the page or losing what you've already typed.

You'll need: a Gmail or Outlook account you can sign in to, or the SMTP server details from your email provider.

Important: Allow pop-ups for Formester in your browser before connecting Gmail or Outlook. Sign-in happens in a small pop-up window, and if your browser blocks it, the account can't be connected.

Where to find it

Every place where you choose which account sends an email has an SMTP Integration field, for example:

• Automate > Email Notifications
• Automate > Autoresponder
• The Send email step in Workflows
• Emailing a submission or a form link from Results, Save and Resume, and survey emails and reminders

The steps below use Email Notifications. They work the same everywhere else.

Open the account list

1. Open your form, go to Automate > Email Notifications, and select Add Email.
2. Fill in the notification as usual, then open the SMTP Integration dropdown.

   
   

   
   You'll see the accounts already connected to your workspace. Pick one to use it, or select Connect new account at the bottom of the list.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   If you haven't connected any account yet, the field reads No accounts yet: connect one, and the list shows No email accounts connected with the same Connect new account option.

3. Choose a provider: Gmail, Outlook or Custom SMTP.

   
   

   
   

Connect Gmail or Outlook

1. Select Gmail (or Outlook). A pop-up window opens with the Google (or Microsoft) sign-in page.

   
   

   
   The dropdown shows Waiting for Google… (or Waiting for Microsoft…) while you sign in.

   
   

   
   

2. In the pop-up, sign in and allow Formester to send email on your behalf.
3. The pop-up closes on its own, and the new account is selected in SMTP Integration. You'll see a message that the account is connected and selected.

If you closed the pop-up by mistake, select Reopen pop-up. To choose a different provider, select Cancel.

Connect a custom SMTP account

Use this for any other provider, such as Amazon SES, Mailgun, SendGrid or your company's mail server.

1. Select Custom SMTP. The Add SMTP Account panel opens on top of your notification.
2. Under Select Smtp Service, pick your provider, or Other if it isn't listed.
3. Fill in Name, Username, Integration Password, Port, SMTP Server, From Name and From Address, using the details from your email provider.
4. Select Add account.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   Formester sends a test email to the From Address to check the details before saving the account.

Check it works

When the account is connected, you'll see Mail account created successfully (for SMTP), and the account is already selected in SMTP Integration, shown as its name and address. Anything you typed in the notification before connecting is still there. Select Save to keep the notification.

You can now pick the account in any other SMTP Integration dropdown too.

If the account doesn't connect

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to go to the Integrations page to add a sending account?
No. You can connect it from any SMTP Integration dropdown, and it's selected for you straight away.

Will I lose what I typed in the form while connecting an account?
No. The panel you were working in stays open, and everything you entered is kept.

Can I go back to Formester's default sender?
Yes. Where the list offers None, such as in Email Notifications, choose it to send from Formester's default address.

Can I use the same account in other forms?
Yes. Once connected, the account appears in the SMTP Integration dropdowns of your other forms too.

Updated on: 08/10/2026