Webmail Tutorial - Reading Messages
The first part to reading you email through webmail is understanding the Message Index. This may sound complex, but the message index is just the list of messages in a particular folder. First we'll explain the different buttons and links in the Message Index:
When you log in to webmail, or when you click a folder name in the Folder list, you will be taken (in the right frame) to the message index. Below the row of menus is a line that shows which messages you are viewing and how many total you have.
If the total list of messages is not showing, you will see other links on that bar. These links will allow you to navigate through the different pages of messages. For example, the entire bar may look like:
Previous, Next and the numerals will take you to the corresponding page. Clicking Show All will show the entire list of messages. We don't recommend clicking this unless you are using a fast connection. If you click Show all, just click Paginate to return to the multi-page view. These links are also available at the bottom of the list of messages.
The Select All link appears regardless of the amount of message in the index. Clicking Select All will put a check mark in the check boxes next to each message on the page. The check boxes are used along with the buttons in the gray bar:
- Move Selected To – This will move all checked messages to a different folder that you choose from the drop down box.
- Read – This will mark the selected messages as read without opening them first.
- Unread – This option marks the chosen messages as unread after you have already opened it.
- Delete – This removes the checked messages from the server. Deleted messages CANNOT be recovered.
The next bar should have 3 fields: From, Date and Subject. These are 3 of the 5 default columns that organize the list of messages into logical parts. From shows who sent you the message, this may be either a name or an email address. Date shows the day the email was sent. If a messages was sent on the day that you are reading it you will see the time it was sent. Subject displays what the sender entered as the subject.
You can rearrange the order of the message in the message index by clicking the boxes next to From, Date or Subject. The boxes will turn to arrows indicating the direction its being sorted (A-Z, new to old, or Z-A, old to new). By default, the messages are sorted by the date/time that they arrived - newest at the top, oldest at the bottom.
The other two columns in the message list are unlabeled. The first unlabeled column is the column of check boxes. The second unlabeled column is usually found between the date and subject columns. This column will show !, A, or +. An A in this column indicates that you have replied to, or answered, this message. If you see the !, then the message has been marked as important, high priority, or urgent! The + means that the message has an attachment.
You'll also note that in the message list, messages that you have read are in regular text, but unread messages are in bold.
To read an email message, just click the subject. The email message will now be showing in the right frame. You'll notice that the links and buttons at the top of the screen have changed a bit. You should see (left to right):
- Message List – this will return you to the list of messages.
- Delete – This will delete the current message. Deleted messages CANNOT be recovered.
- Previous – This will display the previous message from the message list. If you are viewing the first message, this link will not be active.
- Next – This will display the next message from the message list. If you are viewing the last message, this link will not be active.
- Forward – Use this button to forward a copy of this message to someone else.
- Reply – Send a response to the person who sent you this message.
- Reply All – Send a response to the person who sent you this message, and also send a copy to everyone else who received the message.
More information about Forward, Reply, and Reply All will be provided in the next section Sending Mail.
The next area down on the screen, in gray, includes the basic header information including the Subject, From:, Date, To:, and message priority. Click the View Full Header link to view the entire message header. The entire message header includes the route that the message took to get to Expedient as well as a lot of other detailed information about the message itself. This information is necessary for submitting Spam or Security reports to Expedient. For more information about Spam and Security, click the Spam/Security link on the menu to the left on any Help.Expedient.Net page.
Just below View Full Header is the View Printable Version link. If you are going to print an email we recommend clicking View Printable Version first. This will open another window with the email you were viewing, but without the menus and buttons at the top and bottom. After you have printed the email, just close the window to return to the original message.
At the bottom of the message is a link to Download this as a file. This allows you to save the email as a text file onto your hard drive or on a disk. If there are any attachments on the message, they will show below the Download this as a file in a table. The file name, size and sometimes the file type will be listed for each attachment. Clicking on the filename will either display the attachment or present a download dialog depending on the file type. If you wish to download the file (rather than possibly viewing it), click the "download" link on the right side.
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