Webmail with
Sun Convergence
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Sun Convergence
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
1 MAIL 2
1.1 Getting started 2
1.2 Reading E-mail 4
Sorting 4
Searching 4
Opening a message 5
Writing a message 6
1.3 Sending E-mail 6
Message with an attachment 6
Answering 7
Forwarding 7
Typing an address 7
1.4 Addressing 7
Looking up an address 8
Mailbox pane 9
1.5 Managing E-mail 9
Folders 11
1.6 Address books 13
Adding a contact 14
Creating groups 15
1.7 Notification of absence 16
1.8 Forwarding messages automatically 17
1.9 Mail filters 18
1.10 Standard settings 20
INDEX 22
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1 MAIL
1.1 Getting started
Since using a regular mail client like Thunderbird or Outlook is easier than using a
web client, you will normally only use the web client if you have to, as in the
following cases:
1. at home or when travelling
Without any new settings you can easily read and send e-mail wherever there
is an internet connection, such as an internet café.
2. to filter e-mail
Although Thunderbird and Outlook are able to filter IMAP mail, it’s efficient
to sort incoming e-mail at source.
You can find the webmail client (Sun Convergence) by using any internet browser
to go to:
https://webmail.rug.nl
The following login window will appear on your screen:
Fill in your RUGnumber or student number (for instance P123456 or
S1234567) in the Username box, and of course your password in the other.
Then click Sign in
After a successful login, the webmail client will be loaded. The program’s main
window looks like this:
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1. Navigation window with a standard overview of the e-mail. In the Folder
pane you will see all your e-mail folders just as you normally would in your
regular mail client. One of these is the ‘Inbox’, where all incoming messages
are automatically stored. Another is the Trash folder with any deleted
messages. In the Sent folder are any messages that you have sent. The Drafts
folder contains messages that you have written but that are not yet finished
or that should be sent at a later time. You can also create new folders here.
2. Buttons to activate another function
You can chose to open the agenda, the address book or the program settings
here. When another function is selected, the content of the Navigation
window and the Mail pane will of course be adapted to the function that has
been chosen.
3. Mail pane
The Mail pane will show you the content of the mail folder that has been
selected in the Navigation window. It allows you to select messages you want
to read, delete, move, mark or forward.
4. Message content
This shows you the content of the e-mail that has been selected in the Mail
pane.
5. Instant Messaging window
A list of group members with whom you can chat.
To the left of the Buddy List tab, you will see a toggle button with which you
can either hide or display the Instant Messaging window.
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1.2 Reading E-mail
In the Mail pane you will find the messages that are in the folder that has been
selected in the Folder pane. Usually the most recent received message is at the top.
The message list is sorted by date.
Click in the Folders box on the folder you want and in the list of messages on
the e-mail you want.
The content of the message will appear in the lower box. The buttons for
replying, forwarding, printing and deleting can be found above the message
list.
Sorting You can sort the message list by date or in another manner by clicking on either
date or one of the other column headings. The sorting order is indicated by the
sorting button:
ascending: arrow upwards or descending: arrow downwards
Searching To search in the list for a certain message, use the Search window to the upper right
of the message list.
You can search by subject, sender or message content, or you can do an Advanced
Search. The message list is then searched for the requested information. To see the
complete list again, click on the Clear button in the Search window.
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Opening a message To open a message in the message list, double-click on it.
You can open several messages and switch between them by clicking on the
corresponding tabs.
To close a window, use the close button in the upper right corner of the tab.
By clicking on the options button in the header of an opened message, found next
to the addressee or the sender, a shortcut menu will be displayed.
This shortcut menu can be used to compose a message to the person in question, or
to invite them to a meeting. You will also see a timeline of the next 12 hours in their
agenda and the times marked as busy/free.
By clicking with the right mouse button on a message in the message list, a shortcut
menu is displayed.
The shortcut menu offers options such as opening, answering and forwarding
messages.
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1.3 Sending E-mail
Writing a message To write a message and send it, choose New Mail in the upper left of the Navigation
window, or the Write button in the toolbar above the message list.
The following window will then appear:
If other messages are still open, you will see tabs at the top of the New Mail
window, which will tell you the type of message and the subject. The new message
will have a tab which reads [No Subject].
The message can be typed in the Message window, and can also be formatted.
Either type the address of the addressee directly into the box after T: or look up the
address in the Address Book and select it there.
After clicking the Options button you can:
Mark the urgency of the message with Priority
Ask for notification of receipt or whether the e-mail been read with Receipt
Switch off the Rich Text option (used to format a message), which makes the
Format toolbar disappear
If you want the Format option switched off, you can do so via Options in the
bottom left of the Navigation window, Mail, General.
With the Save button you can save a message. The message is saved in the Drafts
folder and can be opened there to continue writing it.
Message with an attachment You can add an attachment to your message with the Attach button. Select the file
you want to send along. A heading with the name, type and size of the attachment
will appear above the Message window. The Remove button can be used to remove
an attachment.
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The size of attachments that can be sent or received is limited. Within the
University of Groningen the limit is 8 MB, including overhead (thus about 7 MB in
practice). Should you wish to send larger attachments, use BARS (Big Attachment
Relay System) via bars.rug.nl. This can be used for sending attachments of up to
100 MB.
To send the message click the Send button.
Answering To answer a message, use Reply, which can be found in the shortcut menu and as a
button in the toolbar. If the original message was sent to multiple addressees, you
can use Reply All to send all the original addressees an answer.
If you reply to a message, the original message will normally be included in your
message. Whether or not this happens can be set via Options (in the bottom left of
the Navigation window), Mail, General.
Forwarding If you feel that a message wasn’t meant for you, or not only for you, you can
forward it by clicking on the Forward button, or by selecting Forward in the
shortcut menu.
You can then choose to send it as an Attachment or Inline.
The Attachment option sends the original message as an attachment to a newly
written message. In the message’s Subject box, the original message’s subject will
appear after Fwd: .
Using the Inline option means that the text of the original message appears in the
Message window where the new message will be typed. You may then add
explanatory text to the message. In this case Fwd: is also added to the Subject box.
1.4 Addressing
Typing an address A message can be addressed by typing the address directly into the box after To:.
While the address is being typed, a list of addresses which contain the characters
being typed will appear automatically.
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The characters appear in bold face in the addresses shown.
There are different ways to address a message, the most important being:
To: message is addressed to this person
CC (Carbon Copy): this person receives a copy of the message
BCC (Blind Carbon Copy): this person receives a copy without the other
recipients knowing
Looking up an address To look up an e-mail address in one of your address books: click on the Address
Book button, or double-click on one of the To, CC, or BCC buttons.
A personal address book All Contacts and the general address book Corporate
Directory are standard.
Select an address in one of the address books and click on To, CC or BCC
The selected address appear in one of the corresponding boxes.
Click on Accept to confirm the addresses chosen
Searching
An address can be found by typing a name or part of a name into the Search box of
the address book.
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While a name is being typed, a list of names will appear which will be modified as
more and more is typed. The Search box can be cleared with the Clear button and
the complete list restored.
1.5 Managing E-mail
Mailbox pane The Mailbox pane displays a list of the messages in the Inbox, or the contents of a
folder selected in the Folder pane. By clicking with the right mouse button on a
message, a shortcut menu is displayed.
The shortcut menu offers standard options such as opening, answering, forwarding
and printing messages.
Other options available include deleting, moving and copying messages.
The Mark option can be used to mark messages as read/unread, or to ‘flag’ them if
a message is significant or must still be read. A red flag will appear in the last
column of the Message window.
The Other section of the shortcut menu contains options to:
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add the sender of a selected message to the address book
use the message to make an appointment in the agenda or use otherwise
to show the complete header of a message
show all messages the sender has sent
Moving a message
A message can be moved by clicking it with the right mouse button or by using the
Move button in the toolbar. Choose Move to Folder and select the folder where you
want it to go to.
Confirm with Move to Folder.
Copying a message
A message can be moved by clicking it with the right mouse button or by using the
Move button in the toolbar. Choose Copy to Folder and select the folder where you
want it to go to.
Confirm with Copy to Folder.
Deleting a message
A message may be deleted by:
clicking on the Delete button in the toolbar
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using the key on the keyboard
using the Delete command in the shortcut menu
The message is moved to the Trash folder. Messages that have been deleted can be
retrieved by moving them from the Trash to another folder.
Messages in the Trash folder which are deleted using the key or by using
the Delete button in the toolbar are gone for good. The Trash folder may be
completely emptied by selecting Empty Trash in the shortcut menu. Settings for
deleting messages can be changed via Options, Mail, General.
Folders Under Mail in the Folder pane are your personal folders which always will
include: the Inbox, Trash, Sent and Drafts.
Creating a folder
A folder can be created with the Create Mail Folder button or by using Personal
Folders in the shortcut menu. Create Mail Folder will appear in the Dialog box.
If necessary, a folder may be selected in which the new folder should be in.
Subfolders cannot be created in the Inbox.
Type a name for the folder in the designated spot and click on Create
The new folder will appear in the Folder pane.
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A folder that contains subfolders will have a small triangle in front of it
By clicking on it the subfolders will appear.
Clicking on it again will make the list disappear.
Deleting a folder
A folder may be deleted by clicking on it with the right mouse button and selecting
Delete Folder from the shortcut menu.
Moving a folder
A folder may be moved by clicking on it with the right mouse button, selecting
Move to Folder in the shortcut menu and selecting the folder to where it needs to
be moved to.
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Confirm with Move to Folder.
Copying a folder
Folders cannot actually be copied. It is of course possible to create a folder
somewhere else with the same name and then to copy the contents to it.
1.6 Address books
A personal address book All Contacts and the general address book Corporate
Directory are standard.
Address books can contain much more personal information than just e-mail
addresses (postal address, work address, telephone numbers, etc.).
New contacts may be added to the personal address book or existing contacts may
be changed. Data from other address books and programs such as Outlook and
Thunderbird may also be imported and groups made.
The address books may be opened via Address Book in the left window.
The following window will then be displayed:
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The personal address book All Contacts may be used to:
Add contacts, change or delete them
Select a contact to send a message, invite to a meeting or add to the chat list
Create groups
Print contact details
Import or export address books (Outlook, Thunderbird)
The general address book Corporate Directory may be used to:
Look up addresses
Add contacts to the personal address book
Print contact details
Select a contact to send a message, invite to a meeting or add to the chat list
By clicking with the right mouse button on an address in the list a shortcut menu is
opened.
Adding a contact
Adding a contact to the personal address book can be done as follows:
Select All Contacts and click on the New Contact button
The screen will show all the possible details which can be filled in for the
contact. Fill in the details and click on Save to save them.
The details of a contact may be changed by selecting the contact in the list and
clicking on the Edit button.
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Creating groups A group can be created consisting of a number of contacts.
Click on the New Group button in the left window under Address Book
Give the group a name and add contacts to the group
End by clicking on Create Group
The group can now be found in the Address Book.
It is now possible to:
Send all contacts in a group a message
Invite all contacts in a group to a meeting
Rename the group
Delete the group
These options can be found in the shortcut menu which appears by clicking with
the right mouse button on the group.
Contacts may be added or deleted by selecting the group and clicking on the
Manage Group button.
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1.7 Notification of absence
Having incoming e-mail answered automatically during a period of absence can be
done as followed:
Choose Options, Mail, Vacation Message
The Vacation Message tab will appear:
Tick the Enable auto-reply box
This will activate the automatic reply to messages.
Give the period of absence by filling in the start date and end date.
Double-click in the Start box and choose a start date in the calendar
Double-click in the End box and choose an end date
Anyone who sends a message will now receive a notification of absence the first
time they send an e-mail. The number of hours after which this message should be
resent to the same person can also be set.
Click in the Hours between replies: box then fill in the number of hours
If the message is to be resent after five days, fill in 120.
If the number 0 (zero) is filled in, every message is answered automatically.
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Click in the Subject: box and type the subject of the automatic reply, for
instance Vacation
Type the text meant for colleagues (all University of Groningen staff) in the
Message to co-workers: box
A colleague is anyone who is in the general address book (Corporate Directory).
Type the text of the message meant for anyone other than colleagues in the
Message to other senders: box
Click on Save Preferences to save the settings
1.8 Forwarding messages automatically
Incoming messages can be automatically forwarded to another e-mail address.
Choose Options, Mail, Forwarding
The Forwarding tab will appear:
Tick the Enable automatic forwarding box
This will activate the automatic forwarding of messages.
Type the e-mail address into the Forwarding box
Multiple e-mail addresses should be separated by commas.
A copy of the forwarded message is automatically saved.
Click on Save Preferences to save the settings
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1.9 Mail filters
To set a filter that automatically puts incoming messages into a certain folder, or
forwards or deletes them, the following must be done:
Choose Options, Mail, Mail Filters
The Message Filters tab will appear:
Click on New Filter to add a filter
The New Filter tab will appear:
Type a name into the Filter Name box
Set the conditions the incoming messages must satisfy. The following options may
be selected:
Match all the following: select this option if all conditions that have been set
must be met
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Match any of the following: select this option if only one condition must be
met
Match all incoming: select this option if the conditions that have been set
must apply to all incoming messages
There are two pull-down menus and a box to use to set the conditions. Select in the
first menu the message characteristic that the filter is for: subject, sender, message
size, etc. Specify in the second whether the message characteristic should be the
same as the text, different from the text, or whether it should contain the text or
not. In the box that is blank fill in the text that the message characteristic should or
should not contain. If To, From, CC or Recipient has been specified, type the e-mail
address in the text box. Type the text for Subject, and specify Message Size in
kilobytes.
Choose the characteristics and settings desired in the two drop-down menus
Type the text in the blank box
The list of conditions can be added to with the plus button and conditions
deleted with the minus button.
Perform the following actions: is used to specify what will be done with messages
that meet the conditions.
Here also, actions may be added with the plus button and actions deleted with the
minus button.
A message may be moved (Move message to) or copied (Copy message to) by
using the Select button to select the folder required. When the Forward message to
is used, the e-mail address of the desired recipient is typed in.
Do not include messages received before should be ticked to specify that the
filter should not be used for messages that arrived before the date selected.
Select the required date in the corresponding box.
Do not include messages received after should be ticked to specify that the
filter should not be used for messages that arrived after the date selected.
Select the required date in the corresponding box.
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By ticking Stop after processing this filter no other filter will be applied
after the present filter.
Choose the required action(s)
Save the filter with Save Filter
The list of filters that have been set will appear:
(In this example only the Verplaatsen cursusmail… filter)
The filter will now work on all incoming messages that meet the conditions. A filter
may be switched on and off by ticking or unticking Enabled.
Another filter may be added with New Filter. Filters may be altered with Edit Filter
and deleted by choosing Delete Filters.
The order in which filters are applied can be changed with Move Up and Move
Down.
Any changes that have been made are saved with Save.
1.10 Standard settings
The standard settings for the various parts can be changed by using the Options
function in the bottom left of the Navigation window.
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The language, date and time settings can be changed under Global, General. The
standard settings are in English for these options.
Among other things, Mail, General can be used to decide what should be done
with deleted messages and whether sent messages should be saved or not.
A standard signature can be added to messages with Mail, Signature. The
alternative to a signature, the so-called vCard, is under Mail, Account Settings.
The vCard can be used for standard information:
By clicking on the pictogram on the vCard, the recipient will see detailed
information.
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INDEX
A L
Address book
Login · 4
corporate · 15
personal · 15
Attachment · 9
M
Automatic reply · 18
Mail pane · 5, 6
Message
B addressing · 10
answering · 8, 9
BCC · 10
attachment · 9
automatic forwarding · 19
C deleting · 13
forwarding · 9
CC · 10
marking · 11
Contact
moving · 12
adding to address book · 16
new · 8
saving · 8
F Message list · 6
sorting · 6
Folder
creating · 13
N
deleting · 14
moving · 14 Notification of absence · 18
Folder pane · 5, 6, 11, 13
Function · 5, 22
S
G Search
message · 6
Group
Searching
creating · 17
address · 10
Signature · 23
I Sorting order · 6
Standard settings
Instant Messaging window · 5 language · 22
Standard signature · 23
INDEX
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T V
To · 10 vCard · 23
INDEX