The Wheelock College Guide to Understanding Microsoft Outlook Web Access Maintained by: Wheelock College Department of Information Technology Version 1.1 June 2006 https://mail.wheelock.edu This document was inspired by the document Life After Webmail Reference Guide from the University of Iowa Information Technology Services. Used with permission.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 3 Getting Started 3 Logging In 3 Reading Messages 5 Using the Reading Pane 6 Understanding Blocked HTML Content 6 Deleting Messages 6 Emptying the Deleted Items Folder 7 Recovering Deleted Items 7 Viewing Attachments 8 Creating and Sending a New Message 10 Adding an Attachment to a Message 11 Changing Your Email Password 13 Creating a Signature 14 Creating A Vacation Message 15 Managing Your Contacts 15 Searching for Contacts 16 Adding Contacts to your Personal Contacts List 17 Sending Messages to a Personal or Wheelock Contact 18 Creating Distribution Lists 18 Sending Messages to a Distribution List 19 Organizing Your Mail 19 Creating A New Folder 20 Junk E-Mail 20 Rules 21 Creating A New Rule 22 Logging Off 23 Getting Help 23
Introduction Welcome to The Wheelock Guide to understanding Microsoft Office Web Access. This booklet will serve as both an introduction to Outlook Web Access (OWA) Premium Client User Interface*, as well as a guide, in order to better assist you in fully utilizing all the great features available in OWA. The instructions in this document are assuming that all settings are the defaults. If you have changed any of the settings in Options menu, the images and instructions may be somewhat different. The images you see in the following document were taken on a Windows XP Professional PC, using Internet Explorer 6 as the browser. *Note: There are two different versions of Outlook Web Access Premium Client and Basic Client. The version you use is determined by your operating system, software, and internet connection speed. The interface you see while on campus may look different from the version you see when you are off campus. As mentioned above, this document is based on the Premium Client user interface which is the default selection when logging in to the system. Getting Started Before you will be able to access Outlook Web Access, you will need to have an account issued to you by the Wheelock College Department of Information Technology. This account serves as both your email and network when accessing the majority of Wheelock s technology services. If you do not currently have an account or are unsure as to whether you have an account, please contact the Wheelock College Department of Information Technology Helpdesk at 617-879-2309 or x2309 (on-campus). The IT Helpdesk is located in office ACW 302 on the third floor of the Activities Building. If you are off campus, you will need to have your own access to the Internet. It is recommended that a high speed connection (DSL or Cable Modem) be used for the best connection. Additionally, you will need to have a web browser installed. Internet Explorer 5 or greater is required to run the OWA Premium Client. All other browsers will be automatically directed to the OWA Basic Client. Logging In To log into Outlook Web Access, launch your web browser and type the following into the address bar of your Internet Explorer Browser: https://mail.wheelock.edu After you enter this URL in the address bar, you will be taken to the login page, which asks you to enter your username and password. Use the account information that was given to you from the Wheelock College Department of Information Technology. The following is what you will see when you access this site and are prompted to login in to Outlook Web Access:
After you enter your username and password, you will be logged in and taken to the Outlook Web Access interface, which will look something like this:
Reading Messages The OWA Interface is divided into three column windows or panes. The pane on the left is the navigation pane. The center in the middle is the view pane. The third column on the right is the reading pane. In order to view your new messages in OWA, you simply position your mouse over the message you d like to read, and double-click it. Your message will then be displayed in a new window, similar to this: When you are finished reading/viewing your message in OWA, and you would like to return to your Inbox, click on the button at the top right corner of the window. This will close the current window, and return you to your Inbox.
Using the Reading Pane You can also read your messages by using the reading pane, the far right column. To use the reading pane navigate through your email by using the navigation buttons located in the top right corner of the main OWA screen: Tells you which email you are on within the current email folder. Takes you to the first message, on the current page of emails. Takes you to the previous message Takes you to the next message Takes you to the last message, on the current page of emails. Understanding Blocked HTML Content Occasionally you will see email messages in the reading pane and when you double-click to read an email you will see a warning about Blocked HTML Content. By default, HTML content (images, hyperlinks, etc) is blocked when you view your messages. This feature is designed to help protect you against spam and privacy invasions. It will also cause most systems which track whether or not you have read an email to be ineffective. If the message you have received is from a trusted source, and you wish to view the content, you can do so by clicking the link which says, Click here to unblock content at the top of the message. Deleting Messages If you would like to delete messages from your Inbox, there are a number of ways to do so in the Premium client: 1) Select the message(s) you wish to delete, then select Edit Delete. 2) Select the message(s) you wish to delete, and press the Delete Key. 3) Right-click on the message(s) you wish to delete, and select Delete. Additionally, you have the ability to delete the message you are currently viewing, which will return you to your Inbox: 1) While viewing your message, click the (Delete) button from the toolbar at the top of the window.
Emptying the Deleted Items Folder Once you have deleted messages from your Inbox and other folders, they will be stored in your Deleted Items folder. If you would like to empty your Deleted Items Folder, choose one of the following options: 1) Click the button, 2) Select the Deleted Items folder, right click on the message, click Delete 3) Select the Deleted Items folder, hold the shift key and down arrow to select the messages, right click on the selected items, click Delete Recovering Deleted Items If you have recently emptied items from your Deleted Items folder, you now have the ability to recover data deleted within the past four days. In order to do this, click on the Options menu in the Navigation Pane. Once inside the Options menu, scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you should see the following displayed: Click the View Items button, and you will be taken to a screen which will display your recently deleted items, labeled Recover Deleted Items, as shown here: Select the message(s) you would like to recover, then click the Recover button in the Tool Bar. Your messages will then be moved back to the Deleted Items folder. From there, you have the ability to move the message back to your Inbox and/or other folders.
Viewing Attachments Note: The process for viewing attachments will vary depending on the type of attachment you are trying to view. Images usually display immediately after clicking on the file name. Other files (word processing documents, spreadsheets, etc.) require you to go through the following process. If you receive a message which has an attachment you would like to view, you can do so by opening the message (as previously instructed), and clicking on the actual attachment itself (as shown circled in red here): Clicking on the attachment will display a new window (as shown below), which will prompt you to either Open or Save the attachment. We recommend you Save the file to your workstation before opening it. Click on the Save button to save the file.
Doing so will then open another window, in which you will need to select the location to save your file, as shown here:
To view the saved file, navigate to the appropriate directory and double-click the file. Creating and Sending a New Message There are a number of ways to create a new message in OWA Premium client. From the Mail window, please select one of the following below: 1) Press CTL + N 2) Press CTL + Shift + M 3) Press the button on the Tool Bar. Doing any one of these things will display a new window, shown below:
From this screen, you can compose your message. Enter the recipient s address in the To: field, the subject of the message in the Subject: field, and any information you wish to include in the body of the message. When you are finished composing the message, click on the button at the top of the window. Your message will then be sent, and you will be returned to the Inbox. Adding an Attachment to a Message If you have a file you wish to include with the message you compose, you can do so by adding an attachment to your message. From your New Message screen, click on the button in the tool bar. After clicking on the Attachments button, you will be shown the following screen, in which you will be able to browse for the file, select and attach a file.
From this window, click on the Browse button, to search for the file you wish to attach. You will then be taken to the following screen, where you can locate the file: Once you have located and selected the file you would like to attach, click the Open button at the bottom of the window. When you are finished adding attachments, click the Close button to return to your message. The attachment will be shown next to the Attachments button.
Changing Your Email Password Every 60 days you will be prompted to change your email password. A warning will notify you 14 days before you are forced to make this change. Failing to change your password will lock out your email account. You should always change your password when prompted to avoid any inconvenience. To change your email password, click on the Options menu on the Navigation Pane. Scroll down until you see the following: Click the Change Password Button. The following pop up window will appear: Fill in the following Window as follows: Domain: wheelock Account: (your username) Old Password: (the password you used when you logged in) New Password: (a new unique password) Confirm New Password: (type new password again here) After filling in the above fields click to continue.
After you should see: Click the link to close the pop up window and take you back to OWA. Your password has been changed. Creating a Signature To automatically add a signature to your outgoing messages, click on the Options menu on the Navigation Pane. Scroll to Messaging Options, and click on the box next to Automatically include your signature on outgoing messages, and click on the Edit Signature button. A new window will then be displayed, where you can create your signature. Once you have created your signature in this new window, click Save and Close, and you will be returned to the Messaging Options section.
Creating A Vacation Message To create a vacation message when you will be unavailable or out of the office, click on the Options menu on the Navigation Pane. From here, you will see the following window, or off, and create/modify your vacation message: NOTE: It is important to understand that this auto-response will only be sent to users with a wheelock.edu e-mail address. The reasoning for this is that autoresponses can pose a security issue for a couple of reasons: 1. An auto-response telling anyone who sends you mail that you are away from your office implies that no one will be attending to your office, system, accounts and other services. 2. An auto-response confirms your e-mail address to spam senders as a valid e-mail address (potentially generating more spam for you). Managing Your Contacts In Outlook, your e-mail addresses are saved as Contacts. By clicking on Contacts in the Navigation pane, any personal contacts you ve added will be displayed in the Preview pane, as shown below:
Searching for Contacts If you would like to look up information about a personal Contact or University employee (phone number, e-mail address, department, etc.), click on the button in the toolbar. Doing so will launch the following window to be displayed, where you can search both your personal Contacts or the Global Address List (GAL). The Global Address List contains the names and e-mail address of everyone on the Wheelock Email System. Enter information in one of the available fields, click the Find button to do a search, and your results will be listed below the blank fields (as Jane Doe s is below). If you would like to send a message to a contact listed, select the person and click the New Message button. If you are finished with this search and would like to return to your previous screen, click the Close button.
Adding Contacts to your Personal Contacts List If you would like to add a new contact to your personal contacts list, click the button (from the Contacts screen), and enter any contact information you would like to retain, as shown here:
When you have entered any contact information you wish to save, click the button, which will then return you to your personal Contacts list. Sending Messages to a Personal or Wheelock Contact If you would like to send a message to a personal Contact or Wheelock Contact, you can do so by one of the following ways: 1) Create a new message, click the To: field to search for and select the contact you wish to send, or 2) Select a contact from your Contacts and click the (Send mail to contact) button, or 3) In the Address Book search window, search for and select recipient, and click the New Message button Creating Distribution Lists If you often send messages to the same group of people, it may be beneficial to create a Distribution List. In order to do this, you must first be in the Contacts screen. From there, click on the New drop-down menu and choose Distribution List (the default in the drop-down box will be Contact). Doing so will display the following window: In this window, you will create the name of your Distribution List in the field provided for List Name. From there, you will need to add the names of contacts you would like added to this list. You can do this by either typing the names or e- mail addresses into the field provided, or you can click Find Names to search for a contact to add to the list. Click the Add button, to add the name to the list. The contacts will then be listed individually below, as shown below. When you are finished adding names, click the button, and you will be returned to your Contacts window.
Sending Messages to a Distribution List Once you have distribution lists created, you can send a message to a select group of people without adding each contact individually. Select a Distribution List from your Contacts and click the button to create a new message. (Send mail to list) Organizing Your Mail As messages begin to pile up in your Inbox it gets difficult to locate particular items. For this reason, it is helpful to organize your mail. In order to create new folders to organize your mail, or view the current folders you have, make sure you are in the Folders view. Clicking on the Inbox button in the Navigation Pane should display any folders you currently have created, as shown here:
Creating A New Folder If you would like to create a new folder from this view, click the drop-down menu on the button, and select Folder. This will open a new window, shown here: Type the name you would like to give the new folder in the Name: field, and select where you would like to put the folder by highlighting the folder. Click OK to create the folder. This will add your new folder, and return you to your previous window. Moving Messages To Folders Once you have folders created, you can start moving messages from one folder to another. There are a number of ways to do this: 1) Highlight and drag the message(s) to the appropriate folder, or 2) Right-click on the message(s) and select Move/Copy to Folder, then select the appropriate folder from the window, or 3) Select the message(s) and click on the (move/copy) button from the Tool Bar, then select the appropriate folder from the window. Junk E-Mail OWA (as well as Outlook 2003 client) comes equipped with a tool to evaluate whether or not a message your receive should be treated as Junk E-Mail, based on a number of factors (time message was sent, content of message, structure of message, etc.). This filter does not have the ability to single out any single
sender, or a certain type of message. This filter is set to a low setting by default, but you have the ability to modify these settings. Any messages caught by this filter are automatically moved to a Junk E-Mail folder. This folder is automatically set up when you create your mail account. To edit your Junk E-Mail settings, click on Options in the Navigation Pane, and scroll down to the section titled Privacy and Junk E-Mail Prevention, as shown here: From here, you have the ability to modify your Junk E-Mail filters. You can turn your Junk E-mail filter on and off, as well as chose whether or not to send a response. This is also where you chose whether or not to display external content in HTML messages you receive. Additionally, you can also create and modify people to your Safe Senders, Safe Recipients and Blocked Senders by clicking on the Manage Junk E-mail Lists. Rules You have the ability to manage your mail by using Rules to automatically filter your incoming messages. After you create the Rules, they will be effective in both OWA and Outlook 2003 client. To display Rules in OWA, you may do so by clicking on Rules in the Navigation Pane, which will display the following in the View Pane: This will display any rules you currently have, and allow you to create and edit rules.
Creating A New Rule To create a new Rule, click on the button from the Rules screen, which window. In this window, fill out the following fields, as shown below: In this example, we have filtered any messages sent to the user containing the word Staff Meeting in the Subject line, to have them automatically moved to the Staff Meetings folder. You can select/change the desired folder by clicking on the blue link. When you are finished creating your Rule, click the Save and Close button to return back to the Rules page. There are several options for filtering incoming mail, as you can see from the previous window. You can filter by sender, as well as automatically deleting or forwarding incoming messages.
Logging Off When you are finished using OWA, please remember to log out of your session by clicking the in the tool bar. It is important to understand that OWA automatically closes its connection to your mailbox after a period of inactivity, to protect your account from unauthorized access. If your session ends, refresh your browser and log on again. Getting Help Should you have problems while working in Outlook Web Access, and it is not covered in this guide, please contact: Wheelock Department of Information Technology Helpdesk Phone: 617-879-2309 Email: helpdesk@wheelock.edu Location: ACW 302 http://www.wheelock.edu/it