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How do I get my email?
Outlook Express will check every email account for new mail each time it is started. If you are not on-line when the program starts, a dialog box will open asking you to select a dial-up account to use. There is usually only the one, which was created when you signed up with your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
By clicking the 'Tools' menu and selecting the 'Options...' item, you can set a period that Outlook Express will use to automatically check for new mail while it is running, so if you run the program then minimise it, it will carry on checking for new mail while you are surfing.
You also have the option of clicking the 'Send/Recv' button which will check all existing accounts. To check for mail on one account only, click on the small down arrow at the right side of the button. This will drop down a list of all accounts for you to choose one.
TIP:
If you receive an email that has an attachment (there is a paper-clip icon next to it in the list pane) and you do not know who sent it, or it seems strange, Do not open the attachment even if it seems interesting, useful or valuable, until you have checked where it came from. This is how many viruses are sent around the world.
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How do I create an email message?
To create new messages click the New Mail button. This will open a new window (the email editor) containing a blank email form for you to fill in.
If you click the small down arrow at the right side of the button you are given a choice of 'stationery'. Stationery is a range of backgrounds, fonts and colours that make your email more entertaining, but also increases the size of the file sent.
If you are replying to an email that you have received, then click the 'Reply' button, with the email selected in the list pane. This will open the email editor with the recipient's address and subject already entered.
The text from the original message is also entered in the message box and marked at the beginning of each line to show that it is the original text. This is so that the person you are replying to knows exactly what you are replying to.
Some people, especially those using Unix or Linux who cannot see the stationery, get upset at having to spend extra time downloading their mail, so be a little cautious in your choice of mail format. If you are unsure then click the button without stationery, click the 'Format' menu in the new window and select 'Plain Text' from the menu list.
At the top of the email editor window are two text boxes labelled 'To:' and 'Cc:'. 'To:' is where you enter the email address of the person, or people, that the message is for. 'Cc:' stands for 'Courtesy copy' and can contain a list of addresses of people you want to get the message for their records. You can, of course, leave the 'Cc:' box empty.
Clicking on the book icon at the side of the text box will open the Address Book for you to select the recipients.
The main text box is where you type your message. It is best to enter the text as you would with a word processor rather than a typewriter, i.e. only use the return key at the end of paragraphs, not at the end of each line. The mail program will 'wrap' the text so that it fits the window. Don't forget to use the 'Spelling Checker', this will save you much embarrassment as it is very easy to hit the wrong key.
Once the message is complete, click the 'Send' button. This moves the message to the 'Out Box' folder ready to be sent to the recipients. If you are on-line the mail will be sent immediately, if not then you will be asked, when you close the program, whether you want to send the messages in the Out Box. If you select 'Yes' then the program will connect to the internet and send the mail, if not then the messages will stay in the Out Box until you are on-line.
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What can I send?
You can send anything that can be stored by the computer. This includes pictures, videos, text files, programs and any other files that you may have.
However, all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will limit the amount of storage space that you can use on their mail servers. Generally this is roughly 5 megabytes (MB) or 5,000,000 characters.
This does not mean that you can create a hundred messages with 50,000 characters in each. A complete email contains other information as well. If you use stationery then the actual file sent can be 4 times the size of a plain text message with the same text content.
If you want to send pictures etc. check the size of the file using Windows Explorer and remember that the person you are sending the file to will most likely be paying for their Internet connection, so downloading the mail will actually cost them money and, if it is a large file, can keep them on-line for 5 or 10 minutes, depending on the speed of their connection, so could cost them, and you, more than the price of posting the picture.
Having said all that, if you want to send a file to someone then it must be 'attached' to your email. Once you have composed your message, click the 'Attach' button. This will open a standard 'Open File' dialog box.
You can then find and select the file that you want to send. The file will not be visible in the text window, but another small text box will appear under the 'Subject' box showing the name of the file and it's size. The mail can then be sent in the normal way.
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Where do I keep email addresses?
Email addresses, street address, telephone and fax numbers and a range of other information can be stored in the 'Address Book'. This is a program that integrates with a number of other programs to maintain contact information. The email addresses of the people that you reply to can be automatically added to your address book by clicking the 'Tools' menu and selecting the 'Options' item. Click the 'Send' tag at the top of the dialog and you will see that there are a range of options for sending mail including the option to add the addresses of people to whom you reply, to your address book.
The 'Address Book' can be opened by clicking the 'Addresses' button. You can then add new people to the book, by clicking the 'New' button, or look up information about someone by double clicking their name in the list.
The address book is a powerful tool and has enough capability to warrant an advanced 'How To' of it's own, so we will not cover it in any detail here. The information already given will be enough to get you started.
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