Working with E-Mail

Working with E-Mail Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 1 What’s Inside and on the CD? • In this chapter you will learn basics of email, including: – What’s needed to send and receive – How to write messages – How to read and reply – How to use electronic address book – How to organize messages Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 2 What is e-mail? • E-mail is an electronic version of postal system • An E-mail message is an electronic document transmitted over computer network • An E-mail system is computers and software that provide e-mail services • An E-mail server is a computer that acts as central post office • Large organizations often use internal mail servers for security and special uses Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 3 What is e-mail? Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 4 What do I need to send and receive e-mail? • To end and receive e-mail, you need: – Internet connection – E-mail account – Software to compose e-mail message • An e-mail account has unique e-mail address – Typically consists of user ID, followed by server name – Example: john_smith@mtc.com @ sign and Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 5 What do I need to send and receive e-mail? Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 6 What do I need to send and receive e-mail? Cont’d. • Two basic types of e-mail accounts available – Web-based email is accessed using browser • Inbox and Outbox stored on Web • Ideal for people who travel because account can be accessed from any computer on Internet • Popular providers include Hotmail.com and Yahoo.com • Basic service typically free of charge • Must be read on-line Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 7 What do I need to send and receive e-mail? Cont’d. Web-based e-mail Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 8 What do I need to send and receive e-mail? Cont’d. • Local e-mail (“POP”) stores your Inbox and Outbox on computer – Compose and read mail offline – Connect only to transfer mail from Inbox to server and to receive incoming messages – Access using e-mail client software • Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular e-mail clients – Outlook Express free with Windows – Lotus Notes and Eudora also popular • Shareware available • Some ISPs provide special proprietary software • Most e-mail software allows files, imbed pictures or sound elements, include URLs • Software available for cell phones and PDAs Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 9 How do I write an e-mail message? • In most e-mail programs, clicking the toolbar button starts new message – Enter recipient’s address in To: box – To include others, type their addresses in Cc: box – Use Subject box for brief message description • Most e-mail clients provide a mini word processor for composing – Clicking Send button either sends message or holds in Outgoing mail folder Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 10 How do I write an e-mail message? Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 11 How do I write an e-mail message? Cont’d. • As you enter text: – Use the mouse or arrow keys to move insertion point – Use the Backspace key to delete to left of point – Use the Delete key to delete to right of point • When using word processing software, press the Enter key at end of paragraph Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 12 How do I write an e-mail message? Cont’d. • To send messages to more than one address, enter additional addresses in the To: box – Use the Cc: box to send message to interested parties not needing to act – Header included that lists all other recipients • To hide enter additional recipients in Bcc: box • Most e-mail clients do not support formatted text unless working with HTML format – Outlook Express allows clicking on Tools, then click Options and select plain text or HTML Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 13 How do I read and apply to an email message? • To read a message using Outlook Express, double-click the message in your Inbox • To respond, click Reply button, type response • To respond to all who received message, click Reply All button, type response Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 14 How do I read and apply to an email message? Cont’d. • To respond to a number of points from original message: – Might say, “See my comments below” – Scroll down and intersperse comment within text of original • To separate comments from original, do not begin comment with “>” symbol • If Outlook Express does not display text of original message as part of reply: – Click Tools menu – Select Options – Select Send tab and ensure check mark appears in box for Include message in reply Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 16 How do I forward an e-mail message? • When the forwarding process is initiated, the original message is copied into new window complete with sender’s address – Enter address of person to whom message is forwarded – Add text to forwarded message to explain why it is being passed on – Some software allows original message to be altered • To forward a message in Outlook Express: – – – – Click message Click Forward button Enter address of person to whom it is forwarded Click Send Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 17 How do I use the address book? • An E-mail address book contains a list of addresses for individuals and groups • When you start to type an address, Outlook Express looks in address book and tries to complete – If address stored, only first few characters needed • Create new entry in book by: – – – – – Clicking Addresses Click New Click New Contact Fill in information Click OK Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 19 How do I use the address book? Cont’d. • To create a group of addresses: – Click Addresses – Click New – Click Group – Add individual addresses – Click OK Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 21 How do I view, save, and delete email attachments? • An E-mail attachment is a file attached to and sent along with e-mail message – You’ll typically want to open and view attachments immediately – If you try to open and see message asking you to select application, your computer probably doesn’t have necessary software – ask sender to provide attachment in different format Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 22 How do I view, save, and delete email attachments? Cont’d. • You can save an attachment on hard disk for later use or to check with antivirus software • You can delete an e-mail attachment but leave text • You should save suspicious attachments on disk before opening. Use antivirus software to check Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 24 How do I send e-mail attachments such as photos? • Attach any kind of file to e-mail including: – – – – Word processing documents Spreadsheets Photos Music clips • Important to remember what the file is called and where it is stored when time to attach it • If attachments are large, consider compressing them – Use compression utilities such as WinZip – Recipient will have to unzip Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 26 How do I organize e-mail messages? • Outlook automatically organizes as you create, send, delete, and receive messages – – – – – Newly arrived messages appear in Inbox Created and sent messages held in Outbox Once successfully sent, copy kept in Sent Items folder Drafts folder contains messages not yet sent Deleted items held in Deleted Items folder until you right-click Deleted Items and chose Empty Deleted Items folder Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 28 How do I organize e-mail messages? Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 29 How do I organize e-mail messages? Cont’d. • To sort e-mail messages: – Click heading above column you wish to sort by – By default, messages sorted by date with newest at top • To search for a message: – – – – – Click Find Choose folder to be searched Enter search criteria Click Find Now Double-click message to view text Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 30 How do I organize e-mail messages? Cont’d. • To create new mail folder: – Right-click Local Folders and select New Folder – Type name of new folder – Click OK • Move e-mail messages between folders by dragging and dropping from one file to another Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 31 How do I organize e-mail messages? Cont’d. • To back up e-mail: – – – – Click File Click Folder Click Compact Select folders to compact • To back up folder: – Use Explorer to locate folder – Copy to floppy disk, writable CD, or other back up medium • Flag important e-mails by clicking column marked with Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 32 What other e-mail features come in handy? • Autoforwarding allows forwarding messages to other e-mail addresses automatically • You can create “rules” to automatically manipulate incoming and outgoing messages • Prioritize e-mail by subject, sender or key word; display high-priority messages • Automatically reply to e-mails • Add fonts, color, and graphics Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 33 What other e-mail features come in handy? Cont’d. • Archive messages by date, time, size, and if they have attachments • Receive messages from multiple e-mail accounts • Web-based e-mail access that allows viewing of messages not forwarded to your Inbox • Encrypt messages before sending Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 34 What other e-mail features come in handy? Cont’d. • An E-mail signature is block of text or graphics automatically added to end of every message sent Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 35 How does e-mail differ from other types of communications? • Instant messaging is Internet-based service that instantly sends messages to other subscribers – Once session begins, two people can type messages back and forth – When session ends, no record stored, unlike e-mail • Text messaging – popular with cell phones – Cell phone users type short message, then relay it by dialing recipient’s phone number – Main advantage is portability – No computer or Internet connection necessary Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 36 How does e-mail differ from other types of communications? Cont’d. • One of e-mail’s main disadvantages is spam – unwanted junk mail • Reduce spam by following these guidelines – Never reply to spam – Use spam filters to redirect to Delete Items folder – Provide your e-mail address only to people from whom you want to receive mail – If e-mail provider offers way to report spam, use it – If spam gets out of hand you may have to start new e-mail address Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 37 How does e-mail differ from other types of communications? Cont’d. • Netiquette is online jargon for “Internet etiquette” • Most important “rules” of netiquette include: – Put meaningful title on subject line – Use upper and lower case letters – Check spelling – Be polite – Avoid temptation to use abbreviations or slang Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 38 How does e-mail differ from other types of communications? Cont’d. – Be cautious when using sarcasm or humor – Use smileys and text messaging shorthand cautiously – Don’t send replies to “all recipients”, use Reply All command only when truly needed – Don’t send huge attachments – Explain all attachments – Be careful when embedding URLs in e-mail – Use appropriate mail format – plain text works for all recipients Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 39 How do I troubleshoot common email problems? • Occasionally, text becomes garbled and appears as series of random characters – Heavy traffic on Internet – Errors on transmission or receiving computer – Sender uses font for language not installed on computer – If garbled message received, ask sender to send again • Trouble at any step in message’s path can prevent it being delivered Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 40 How do I troubleshoot common email problems? Cont’d. • If antivirus software detects possible virus, it displays warning and prevents delivery – Virus most likely spotted in attachment • When mail shipped from Outbox to server, typically progress reported • If you receive report saying mail cannot be delivered, check network connection by trying to open browser Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 41 How do I troubleshoot common email problems? Cont’d. Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 42 How do I troubleshoot common email problems? Cont’d. • If message needs to be sent again, avoid retyping by using Forward button • If wrong e-mail address, use forward button to avoid retyping after correcting address • To open attachment, computer must have software that works with file extension and format Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 43 How do I troubleshoot common email problems? Cont’d. Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 44 How do I troubleshoot common e-mail problems? Cont’d. • Inbox overflow might prevent receiving email. When hard disk full • Take steps to regain disk space by deleting old or large files – When Web-based e-mail account full • Must delete old messages • As soon as old messages deleted, mail that is being held can be delivered Practical Computer Literacy, Chapter 18 45