© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 1

6C H A P T E R

Electronic Mail

Electronic mail has revolutionized the way people communicate when they cannot talk in person. On the Internet, if both the sender and the receiver log on frequently, it is possible to exchange several messages with someone in a single day.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 2

C H A P T E R 6

Objectives:

Understand what an e-mail account is and know how to get one set up for you.

Select an e-mail client for use in sending, receiving, and filing e-mail messages.

Configure your e-mail client so you can begin using e-mail.

Send, receive, answer, forward, and file e-mail messages.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 3

C H A P T E R 6

Objectives:

Create a signature file that will identify who you are at the end of your e-mail messages.

Know how to attach files to your e-mail messages.

Avoid catching harmful viruses that can be transmitted in e-mail attachments.

Use an address book to keep track of the e-mail addresses of people to whom you send mail.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 4

C H A P T E R 6

Objectives:

Create a mailing list that enables you to send a message to several people at once.

Search your stored mail messages to find things you have filed for future reference.

Deal with unwanted mail and detect fake mail IDs.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 5

C H A P T E R 6

Objectives:

Encrypt your mail so only the person receiving it can read it.

Read your mail with a Web-based e-mail service.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 6

C H A P T E R 6

Getting an Account on a Host Computer

You get the account from your Internet service provider (ISP).

When the ISP sets up your account, you will be told what the name of your account is.

In addition to being told the name of your account, you will be given a password that you must enter each time you log on to your account.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 7

C H A P T E R 6

Selecting an E-mail Client

Netscape Messenger Netscape’s e-mail client is called

Netscape Messenger. Netscape Messenger is part of

the Netscape Navigator browser suite.

Microsoft Outlook Express The e-mail client in Microsoft

Internet Explorer is called Outlook Express.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 8

C H A P T E R 6 Configuring Your E-mail

Client

Configuring an e-mail client means telling it the essential information it needs to know, such as the IP address of your ISP’s mail server and the name of your e-mail account.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 9

C H A P T E R 6

Configuring Your E-mail Client in Netscape Communicator

The Netscape Preferences dialog showing Mail Server Options.

The Netscape Preferences dialog showing Mail Server Options

The Netscape Mail Server Properties dialog.

The Netscape Preferences dialog showing the Identity options.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 10

C H A P T E R 6

Configuring Your E-mail Client in Internet Explorer

The first of Internet Connection Wizard’s five setup screens.

The Internet Connection Wizard’s Mail Server setup screes.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 11

C H A P T E R 6

Sending Mail

Send Button

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 12

C H A P T E R 6

Reading Mail in Netscape

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 13

C H A P T E R 6

Reading Mail in Outlook Express

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 14

C H A P T E R 6

Answering Mail

You can reply to the message while it is on your screen.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 15

C H A P T E R 6

Forwarding Mail

Instead of having to go through all of the steps needed to copy and paste the message into a new message window, you can simply forward the message.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 16

C H A P T E R 6

Filing E-mail Messages

Creating an E-mail Folder To file mail, you can create different

folders regarding different topics. Filing Mail into an E-mail Folder

You can file mail in any e-mail folder on your computer.

Retrieving Mail from an E-mail Folder Filing mail would serve no purpose

without a way to retrieve it when you want to refer to it again.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 17

C H A P T E R 6

Filing E-mail Messages

The New Folder dialog in Netscape Messenger.

The Create Folder dialog in Outlook

Explorer.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 18

C H A P T E R 6

Creating a Signature File

When you send someone an e-mail message, it’s nice to include information about yourself.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 19

C H A P T E R 6

The Identity Category of the Netscape Preferences dialog.

Setting Up a Signature File

The Outlook Express Signatures tab in the Options dialog.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 20

C H A P T E R 6

Sending and Receiving Mail Attachments

A mail attachment is a file that you attach to an e-mail message.

When you send the message, the attached file gets sent along with it.

File attachments can be virtually any kind of file that you are accustomed to using on your computer.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 21

C H A P T E R 6

How to Read an E-mail Attachment

Each file appears as an icon toward the bottom of the message. To open the file, simply double-click its icon.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 22

C H A P T E R 6

How to Avoid Catching Viruses from E-mail Attachments

The viruses spread through attachments when you open them.

Use extreme caution whenever you open an e-mail attachment, especially if it has an executable filename extension such as .exe, .bat, .class, or .vbs

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 23

C H A P T E R 6

Address Books

Adding a Name to Your Address Book Addressing E-mail to Someone Listed

in an Address Book Addressing E-mail to Groups of People

To avoid having to look up a person’s e-mail address every time, you can record it in an address book.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 24

C H A P T E R 6 Address Books

Adding a Name Netscape Communicator

The Netscape Address Book window.

The Netscape Add User dialog.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 25

C H A P T E R 6

Address Books

Adding a Name Outlook Express

The Outlook Express Address Book window.

The Outlook Express Properties dialog for a new contact.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 26

C H A P T E R 6 Addressing E-mail to

Groups

Netscape Mailing List dialogOutlook Express Properties dialog for a group.Outlook Express Select Group Members

dialog.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 27

C H A P T E R 6 Searching E-mail

Messages

When you have a lot of accumulated mail, you will eventually lose track of where everything is. Happily, you can search your mail messages to find things.

The Netscape Search Message dialog.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 28

C H A P T E R 6 Searching E-mail

Messages

The Outlook Express Find Message dialog.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 29

C H A P T E R 6 Dealing with Unwanted E-

mail

Just delete it. Send a reply indicating your disdain

for the unwanted mail.

There are two ways to deal with unwanted e-mail:

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 30

C H A P T E R 6

Using Mail Filters

You can block mail from unwanted sources by using mail filters.

A mail filter blocks mail that comes from e-mail addresses that you forbid.

You can also block mail by filtering key words in the subject line.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 31

C H A P T E R 6

Using Mail Filters

Netscape Filter Rules dialog.

Outlook Express Filter Rules dialog.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 32

C H A P T E R 6

Detecting Fake Mail IDs

If you get mail saying it’s from someone that you doubt actually wrote the message, you can get more information about where the message came from by revealing the headers of the mail message

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 33

C H A P T E R 6

Encrypting Your Mail

Encrypting means to run the message through an encoder that uses an encryption key to alter the characters in the message.

Unless the person wanting to read the message has the encryption key needed to decode it, the message appears garbled.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 34

C H A P T E R 6

E-Mail Priorities

Both Netscape and Microsoft support a priority-setting option that lets you set the priority of an e-mail message. You set this option when you send a

message. When it arrives at its destination, it

has a priority flag indicating how important it is.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 35

C H A P T E R 6

E-Mail Priorities

The Netscape Priority menu.The Outlook Express Priority menu.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 36

C H A P T E R 6

Return Receipt Requested

To verify the receipt of a message, you can set an option for the person’s e-mail client to send you a return receipt when the person opens the message.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 37

C H A P T E R 6

Return Receipt Requested

Netscape Return Receipt option. Outlook Express Return Receipt Option.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 38

C H A P T E R 6

Spell Checking

To spell check an e-mail message with Netscape, click the Spelling

button in the Composition window.

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, click the Spelling button

in the New Message window.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 39

C H A P T E R 6

Reading Mail on the Web

Several Internet service providers make it possible for you to read your mail on the Web, using a Web browser instead of an e-mail program.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 40

C H A P T E R 6

Web-based E-mail

Several Internet portal sites offer Web-based e-mail services. Anyone can register at the portal to

receive a free Web-based e-mail account.

Then you can read and send mail with your browser.

Popular Web-based e-mail services are at hotmail.com and mail.yahoo.com.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 41

C H A P T E R 6

Sending Mail as HTML

HTML enables you to include in a message bolding, italics, underlining, colors, fonts, and special symbols that do not get transmitted in plain text messages.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 42

C H A P T E R 6

Sending Mail as HTML

The Netscape Mail Format options.The Outlook Express Mail Format options.