Outlook Express 6.0 Tutorial I

Transcription

1 This tutorial was adapted from a tutorial by see its complete version at Outlook Express 6.0 Tutorial I Topics covered in the workshop Delivery How works Sending Logging on to Outlook Express Checking Your Additional Topics Exporting Items Importing Items Blocking & Unblocking Messages Creating Rules Finding Messages Composing Replying to Forwarding Attachments Outlook Express folders automatically created: About the Address Book Adding a Card to Your Personal Address Book Looking Up and Using Addresses from Address Books

2 Delivery Delivering can be thought of as a three-stage process, very much like sending a letter through the local post office. 1. You take your letter to the post office and mail it. 2. The postal service delivers your letter to the post office at the far end. 3. The recipient goes to the post office and picks up the letter. In this analogy, your post office is actually a server host at AUB that routes/handles your . The post office box is a mailbox file on the server host. To access your , you need an account (username) and a password. How works When you address an message, you use the format username@domainname. In this format, username is the account name assigned to you by AUB and the domainname is aub.edu.lb. Both username and domainname are unique to help ensure that messages are delivered to the intended recipient. For example faculty member John Smith has a username of jsmith, and his domainname is aub.edu.lb. His address is jsmith@aub.edu.lb. is actually composed of two systems: the first system is used to send messages from you to another user's post office, and the second system is used by you to retrieve messages so they can be read. Sending The first of these two systems uses the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to send e- mail from one system or post office to another. When you address an message, you use the format username@domainname. In order to send successfully you must have the right address of the person you are ing, the SMTP server at the far end must be able to find the recipient's mailbox, and be able to write to it. If these conditions are not met your message will "bounce" (be undeliverable) and you will get some sort of an error message. If this happens, check your information and try again. Here is a sample of a returned message. SAMPLE Subject: Mail delivery failed : returning message to sender Date: Monday, October 01, :55 PM From: Mailer-Daemon@aub.edu.lb To: jsmith@aub.edu.lb ####### MAIL DELIVERY FAILURE NOTICE ######### ####### PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE ######### Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

3 ####### AND ######### ####### DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE ######### This is an automated message, created by the AUB mail server, to inform you that a message that you sent could not be delivered to all of its recipients. The following address(es) failed: khatibb@aub.edu.lb: unknown local-part "khatibb" in domain "aub.edu.lb" Logging on to Outlook Express 1) Start Outlook Express. To start Outlook Express, click on Start, then click on Programs, next click on Outlook Express. 2) From the Outlook Express main menu, select Tools and select Accounts. You ll see the following: Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

4 3) Click on Add and select Mail. 4) After entering your full name click on Next >. 5) Type the address that will be used in all future mail messages. Your address should look like this: Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

5 6) After entering your address, click on Next >. 7) In the next screen, you will be asked to choose the server type and supply the names of the Incoming mail (POP3 or IMAP) server and the Outgoing mail (SMTP) server. Use the following settings: Mail server type: POP3 Incoming mail server: pop.aub.edu.lb Outgoing mail server: asmtp.aub.edu.lb Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

6 8) After entering all the information, click on Next >. 9) In the next screen, you will be asked to enter your login information. In the POP3 account name field, enter your username (e.g. jsmith). In the Password field, put your account password. NOTE: If you share your machine with other users, DO NOT enter your password here at this time. You will be asked to enter your password later when you retrieve your mail from the server. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

7 10) After entering the information, click on Next >. 11) Click on Finish to save your settings. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

8 Final Touches: From the Outlook Express main menu, click on Tools and select Options. Select the General Tab if it is not already selected. You can tell Outlook Express to check for new mail in minutes. Select Check for new messages every minutes. You choose the increment. By default, Outlook Express is set to send outgoing mail in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) format. It is better that users change this setting to Plain text since other people on the receiving end might be using a mail reader that doesn't understand HTML. To change this setting, do the following: From the Outlook Express main menu, click on Tools and select Options. In the options window, click on the Send tab. Check Plain Text option for Mail sending format and News sending format. To create a Signature file, click on the Signature Tab. Select the New button and type your contact information in the text field. Make sure that the button Add signatures to all outgoing messages is selected. The signature file should not exceed 4 lines and should include information about the person (e.g. affiliation, title, address, phone, fax, etc.). Then click on OK. Checking Your Click on the Outlook Express Icon on your desktop. It looks like this... Make sure that the Inbox folder to the left of the screen is highlighted. If you have waiting, Outlook Express will retrieve your messages and will display the new messages in your Inbox. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

9 Outlook Express's main window is divided into three sections. The top section contains a list of messages in your Inbox. Your Inbox holds new messages that have been received since you last checked your plus previously read that you have not yet deleted or moved to another folder. The lower section of the main window displays the contents of the message that is highlighted in the top section. The left section of the window lists the standard folders that Outlook Express sets up as a part of the configuration process. Accessing and Displaying Messages To read a message in your Inbox or some other mail folder, you must: Open the folder in which the message resides, such as your Inbox. The folder list is found in the left-hand corner. To open a message in its own message window, double-click the message's summary in the message list. To return to the index or message list, close the message window. There will be times when you want to view the "Headers" of a mail message. This information tells you where the you received came from. To view a mail Header, highlight the message in the top section, choose File, Properties, and Details. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

10 Updating Your Message List To download new messages into your Inbox or to update your message list so you can see new messages, from your Inbox or any Message List window, choose the send and Receive button. Printing Selected Messages You can print a message from the Message window, or from the Message List window, if the message panel is open and the message you want to print is being displayed. To print the currently displayed message, click File, then Print. Composing Sending differs from replying and forwarding in a number of areas and functions. Perhaps the greatest difference is that sending, in the strictest form, involves creating original messages. To send a new or original message, begin by clicking on the Create Mail icon. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

11 This will open the message composition window. Enter the address of the person you wish to write in the To: field, include a Subject: and then type your message in the body of the . Be aware that depending on the mail reader the person you are writing uses, font type, size, bold, italics, and underscore may or may not look as you intended. Then press Send. Recipient Types and what they mean To: Primary recipients of your message. CC: Carbon Copy, for secondary recipients. BCC: Blind Carbon Copy, for secondary recipients not identified to the other recipients. Replying to When you reply to a previously received message, the text of the message you are replying to is included in your mail message. You can edit this message. Replying to a previously received message automatically inserts the To: address and eliminates Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

12 the need to "look up" the senders address. Reply: To reply to the author of the message by , click the Reply button on the toolbar. Reply All: To reply to the author of the message and to all the group, click the Reply All button on the toolbar. Forwarding You can pass a received message to another user. Messages that are forwarded retain their attachments. Attachments Any file on the user computer or local drives can be sent as an attachment to an . A message does not need to be plain text. An attachment can be a document (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, text etc.) or a voice message. Multiple files can be attached with a single . How To Attach A File: Open a New Message window. Enter the message. Click on Insert then File Attachment. Choose the file from the dialog box: Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

13 Common format types include:.pdf,.doc,.bmp,.jpg,.gif,.html,.htm,.xl,.ppt If possible, before sending messages with attached files, make sure that your intended recipients have the software available to read the attachments. There is no point in sending, for example, an Excel spreadsheet to a person who does not have Excel. Opening attachments: be careful about opening attachments from someone you do not know. Viruses can be transmitted through attached files via . If you do not know who an attachment comes from consider deleting the mail without opening the attachment. Outlook Express folders automatically created: Inbox - holds your incoming mail Outbox - holds your current mail before it is sent Sent Items - stores copies of all outgoing messages Deleted Items - contains that has been deleted Drafts - stores drafts of outgoing messages Templates - Mail you have saved with a specific format that you will re-use in the future Unsent Messages - If you turn off the Option, Send mail immediately, all your sent mail resides in this folder until you terminate your mail session INBOX Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

14 The Inbox is intended for storing incoming messages. Old messages should not be kept in the Inbox; they should be moved to other folders or deleted once they have been read. Deleted Items To delete a message, select the message in the Outlook's top section and click on the Delete button. If you delete a message by mistake, open the Deleted Items folder, and then drag the message back to the Inbox or other folder. New Folder Messages that you would like to save should be moved into another folder; they should not be left on your Inbox. Folders may be created and used on your local PC. messages stored in folders on your local PC are accessible only when you are using that particular PC. To create a new folder, select File, Folder, New. This will produce the New Folder window. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

15 Type the name of the folder you want to create (e.g. Minutes) in the upper field. You can name this folder anything you want, a project name, a persons name or topic name. Use the lower field to select the location under which the new folder should be created. Filing Messages To move an message from your Inbox to another folder, select the message in the top section and then choose Edit, Move To Folder. This will open a list of available folders. Click the folder that you want to store the message in. The message will be deposited in the new folder and removed from your Inbox. Messages that have been stored in other folders can be used the same way you would as if they were still in your Inbox; you can move, delete, reply-to and forward them. To switch from your Inbox to another message folder, select the folder to be displayed on the left section. NOTES: Be selective about saving old messages. Messages that you do not need to keep should be deleted. Messages that you want to keep for long-term reference/storage should be moved into one of your local mail folders (like Inbox, Drafts, Minutes, Announcements, Friends, etc...) on your PC. Important messages that you want to be able to access from several different locations (e.g. home and office) should be stored in folders on the server. About the Address Book Use an address book to store and maintain information about individuals and to create Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

16 mailing lists. After creating entries in an address book, you can use address book entries to look up information about your personal contacts, such as addresses and phone numbers. Use the Address Book window to create, store, and edit address book entries. An address book entry stores names, postal addresses, addresses, phone numbers, and other information about an individual. You can also use an address book to associate a number of addresses with a single group, which becomes a mailing list. Adding a Card to Your Personal Address Book From the Outlook Express toolbar, select the Address Book button. From the Address Book window, click New, which brings up the choices New Contact, New Group, or New Folder. In the New Contact dialog add your entry to your Address Book, click OK. Adding a Group to Your Personal Address Book From the Outlook Express toolbar, select the Address Book button. From the Address Book window, click New, which brings up the choices New Contact, New Group, or New Folder. In the New Group dialog add a Group name to your Address Book. Choose Select Members, and highlight the individuals already in your address book and send them into the right side of the window by clicking on the Select button. Press OK. Looking Up and Using Addresses from Address Books Use the Address Book Window to lookup addresses and other information from address books and address lookup services. To lookup an address by using the Address Book, follow these steps in order: Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

17 1. Choose the Addresses icon. 2. If the person you are looking for is on the list, highlight his name and select the Action icon on the toolbar, then select Send Mail. 3. Compose and Send message as usual. To add Signature to Outgoing Messages a) On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Signatures tab. b) To create a signature, click New and then either enter text in the Edit Signature box or click File, and then find the text or HTML file you'd like to use as your signature. c) Select the Add signatures to all outgoing messages check box. d) Click on OK. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

18 s Netiquette: Netiquette is a term for proper etiquette on the Internet. Here are some of the main netiquette guidelines, adapted from the Netiquette Guideline at 1) Don't assume any Internet communication is completely secure. "Never put in an message anything you would not put on a postcard". Likewise, independently verify any suspect mail, as addresses can be forged. 2) If you are replying to a message, quote only the relevant parts. 3) If you are forwarding or re-posting a message, don't change the original wording. 4) Never send chain letters, they are forbidden on the Internet. Notify you System Administrator if you receive one. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

19 5) Do not send abusive or heated messages (flames). If you receive a flame, it is best to ignore it. 6) Allow time for mail to be received, and replied to, keeping in mind time differences around the world and other people's busy schedules. 7) In general it is easy to read when there are line breaks between paragraphs. 8) If you want your mail to be read, don't make it too long unless the receiver is expecting a verbose message. Over 100 lines is considered long. 9) Send messages in.txt format. A lot of people do not use web browsers to read e- mail and your.html code may become a sort of gibberish. 10) Use mixed case, UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING. 11) The subject header should reflect the content of the message. 12) When attaching files, don't send any larger than about 50k, unless you cannot avoid it. 13) When attaching images, convert them into.jpeg format. 14) Remember the Internet is a global community, and other peoples values and outlook on life may be different to your own. Be tolerant. Additional Topics Exporting Items Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

20 You can export your address book and mail messages from Outlook. To export items out of Outlook Express, select File>Export>, then select the item that you want to export. Importing Items If you are a previous user of Outlook Express, you might want to import your Address Book, Mail, or Newsgroup settings. To import items into Outlook Express, select File>Import>, then select the item that you want to import. You can also import accounts from other clients by selecting File>Import>Mail Accounts. Blocking Messages If at any time you feel that you want to block messages from a specific sender or domain (Web address), open Outlook Express and go to your Inbox. From your Inbox, select the message that you want to block, and on the Message menu, click Block Sender. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

21 Unblocking Messages To unblock a sender or domain from the blocked senders list : select Tools>Message Rules>Blocked Senders List. Then a new window will appear containing the list of blocked senders, select the user or domain name, and click Remove. Creating Rules To help manage your , Outlook allows you to create rules, which are applied to incoming messages. These rules tell Outlook what to do with the messages. To create a new rule, select Tools>Message Rules and then click Mail. You will see a list of conditions or rules. Select the conditions you want to apply, and then specify the action you want the rule to take, such as delete or move. Once all your settings are in place, name your rule, then click OK. NB: If you want all messages coming from a specific domain name to go to a specific folder : go to Tools>Message Rules>Mail. A new window will appear, under A new condition for your rule select: Where the from line contains people, then, under Select the items for your rule choose the action Move it to a specified folder, under the rules description click contains people then type the domain name the click on specified and choose the folder. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22

22 Finding Messages To find messages in your message folders Notes 1. On the Edit menu, point to Find, and then click Message. 2. Enter criteria in the search fields. Outlook Express searches the currently selected folder by default. To search in another folder, click Browse, and then select the folder you want to search. You can also find messages by resorting the columns (clicking, for example, the Subject, From, or Sent headers). Click the column header to reorder the messages by that column. For example, when you click the From column, messages are sorted alphabetically by the sender's name. How to download a free version of Outlook Express software? - Go to then go to Download homepage and ask for your FREE version of Outlook Express. Last Updated: Friday, July 25, of 22