An e-mail message has three main parts, as shown in the illustration below:
Header: includes message recipients, subject line, attachments
Body or Text: is the actual content of the message
Footer: includes contact information or signature of sender
2B: Using an E-mail Program
If you are using an e-mail software program that resides on your computer (such
as Mozilla Thunderbird or Outlook Express) to send and receive messages, you
must configure it so that the program can find the computer where your e-mail
account is located. Messages are downloaded and stored on your computer.
Example: Thunderbird
Select Account Settings from the Tools menu.
Click on the "Add Account" button.
The Account Wizard will take you through the steps needed to set up Thunderbird to find your existing e-mail account.
2C: Using Web Mail
If you use Web e-mail programs, you do not need a software program on your computer for e-mail. And you can read or send e-mail from any computer that has an Internet connection and a Web browser. Messages are stored on the Web. There are several kinds of Web-based e-mail:
Free Web e-mail accounts provided by some companies (such as Yahoo! Mail, Microsoft HotMail, Google Gmail).
Web mail service from an Internet Service Provider (where you already have a paid e-mail account), your school, or employer. OSU Web Mail and University E-mail Service are available for Ohio State University faculty and staff and Buckeye Mail is available for students.
When you set up a Web mail account, there are a variety of settings you can choose, as shown in the illustration below for Gmail.
2D: Server Addresses
At some point when setting up e-mail, you may need to enter the server addresses for incoming and outgoing mail for your e-mail account. You should be able to get this information from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) Web site.
If you have an e-mail program installed on your computer, you will follow the steps below.
ACTION: Look for "Check Mail," "Read Mail" or "Send/Receive" on your e-mail program's menus.
PASSWORD: Supply your password.
TRANSFER: If you have new messages, the e-mail program transfers them to your In mailbox (Inbox) and displays some type of "New Mail" alert.
DISPLAY: Click once on the message summary line to display it in the preview pane, shown in the illustration below, or double-click the summary line to open the message in it's own new window.
If you are using Web mail, you must supply your username and password to login to the Web site where your mail is stored. Once connected, click on your Inbox to view new messages.
When you want to send an e-mail message to someone:
ACTION: Look for "New Mail," "New Message" or "Compose" on your e-mail program's menu.
RECIPIENT: Enter the recipient's e-mail address in the TO: space of the message form.
SUBJECT: Enter a brief descriptive subject for the message.
TEXT: Type the body of your message in the space provided.
SEND: Click on the Send button in the message window.
Multiple Recipients:
Use TO: List each primary recipient in the TO: field of the message form. Separate each e-mail address with a
; (semi colon).
Use CC: if you want to send a copy of your message to someone.
Use BCC: if you want to send a "blind" copy of your message to someone, without other recipients knowing about it.
2G: Reply To or Forward Mail
To send a reply:
Select Message, then Reply from the menu. If you want your reply to be sent to every person listed as a recipient of the original message, choose Reply to All.
Be sure to "quote" the original message in your reply. Usually you can configure your mail program to do this automatically. This makes it easier for the reader to understand your response. Delete any portions of the original message that are unnecessary.
To forward a message:
Select Message, then Forward from the menu.
Enter the recipient's e-mail address in the TO: space of the message form.
The original message is quoted automatically, however you can add some text of your own at the top.
