This is Version 1.3 of the Guide to WebMail. WebMail allows users to access their email account through the Internet using a web browser. This guide will demonstrate how to access and use this service.
To access WebMail open your Internet browser (Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. Your browser should be at least version 4.0 and have Java and cookies enabled.) and go to http://mailbox.acomp.usf.edu.
The login screen asks for the following information:
Login ID - Enter your Login ID (username) as it appears on your account information form. This is the first part of your email address - everything before the @ symbol (ex. jdoe in jdoe@helios.acomp.usf.edu).
Password - Enter your password for this account. This field is case sensitive.
Server - Select your server (host machine) by clicking on the down arrow and then on the name of your server. Your server is the last part of your email address - everything after the @ symbol (ex. helios.acomp.usf.edu in jdoe@helios.acomp.usf.edu).
Click on Login after entering your information.
After successfully logging in, you will see:
A drop-down box on the left of the page under the Webmail graphic. This is used for navigating your mail folders (Inbox, Trash, Sent-mail, etc). The default folder is INBOX - the folder containing mail sent to you. You can change folders by clicking on the down arrow and then on the folder you wish to view. After selecting a folder, this folder's contents will automatically be displayed in the Folder Window.
Menu - The menu is located on the right of the page and is comprised of the following icons:
Inbox Compose Address Book Folder Management Preferences Logout These options are explained in more detail in later sections of this document.
Folder Window - The bottom portion of the page is used to display the contents of the current folder - your inbox by default. You will find a green bar similar to the following at the top of the Folder Window:
INBOX 1 - 30 of 35 Messages This bar gives the name of the current folder on the left and the messages being displayed on the right. Note that only 30 messages can be displayed per page.
Messages are displayed in rows - one message per row. Each row contains the following information about a message: Date, From, Subject, and Size. On the far left of each row you will see a box by each message. You can select a message for an action by clicking once in this box. The column to its immediate right labeled "?" gives the status of the message. An envelope in this column indicates that the message has not been read, a checkmark indicates that the message has already been replied to, and a trash can means that the message has been marked for deletion. If a message contains attachments, the very last column on the right (the column without a name) will contain an image and the number of attachments.
On each page you will find the following options (for your convenience they are located at the top and bottom of the Folder Window):
Delete - Mark selected messages for deletion - this does NOT delete the message automatically. Messages marked for deletion will appear grayed out and have a trash can in the "?" column.
Undelete - Unmark selected messages previously marked for deletion.
Move - Move selected messages to a different folder. A folder must be chosen from the drop down box to the right of this option entitled "Selected mail to:".
Copy - Creates a copy of selected messages in a different folder - the messages remain in the current folder. A folder must be chosen from the drop down box to the right of this option entitled "Selected mail to:".
Select all - Selects all messages displayed on the current page. This option does not select all messages in the current folder only those messages currently displayed.
Select none - Deselects all currently selected messages.
Empty Trash - This option will delete all messages marked for deletion. This action is permanent - there is no way to undo this action.
Page - If you have more than one page of mail, the current page is displayed in a box (ex. page [ 1 ] of 3). To access a specific page: replace the number in the box with the desired page number and hit enter. The blue arrows can also be used for navigation - arrows pointing to the left (
) will take you to the previous page and arrows pointing to the right (
) will take you to the next page. Double arrows will take you to the first page (
) or last page (
) in the folder.
To read a message, click once on the subject of the message. The message will be loaded in the Folder Window. A message is composed of a header and a body. The header contains the Date the message was sent, who it was sent To, From whom the message was received, the Subject of the message, and a listing of the Parts of the message. The body is the plain text part of the message and is located in a white box under the header.
If your message contains an attachment, you will see a line after Parts similar to this: picture.jpg 39.67 kB base64 (download). Some attachments (pictures and text files) can be viewed with your browser. Others (Microsoft Office documents) will have to be saved to a floppy or hard-drive and opened with the associated program. To begin saving the file click on the "download" link. If you are using Internet Explorer choose "Save this file to disk" and click OK. If you use Netscape Navigator, click "Save File". In the "Save As" window choose the location you wish to save the file to (Save in), and click Save.
When viewing a message, you will notice that you have the same options to Delete, Move and Copy the message. You also have the following options:
Reply - Reply to the sender of the message. See the section on Composing a Message for further information.
Reply to All - Reply to the sender and all recipients of the message. See the section on Composing a Message for further information.
Forward - Forward the message to a third party. See the section on Composing a Message for further information.
Save As - This option allows you to save the message to a floppy disk or a hard drive. After clicking Save As, choose "Save this file to disk" and click OK for Internet Explorer or click on "Save File" for Netscape Navigator. In the "Save As" window choose the location you wish to save the file to (Save in), change "Save as type:" to "All files", give the file a name ending in .txt (ex. message.txt), and click Save. This file can be viewed in notepad or any word processor.
Add to contacts - This option will add the sender of the current message to your Address Book. After clicking on this link, a box will appear with the sender's email address, a suggested nickname, and the sender's full name. You can edit this information or just click on Submit to add this contact. If you would like to cancel this transaction without saving, click on Close Window.
Print - Print the message body.
Back to Folder - Return to the current Folder.
To begin a new message, click on the Compose icon in the menu. This will open a new window called "Message Composition". The message composition consists of the following parts:
To - Enter the email address of the first recipient in this field.
CC - Stands for Carbon Copy and allows you to send a copy of the message to more than one address. Note that each recipient of the message will be able to see the address of every other recipient. To use this feature, enter the email address of each additional recipient separated by a comma (ex. first@helios.acomp.usf.edu, second@helios.acomp.usf.edu).
BCC - Stands for Blind Carbon Copy and works like CC except each recipient cannot see the addresses of other recipients.
Subject - Enter the subject of the message in this field.
Attachment - To attach a file to a message:
- Click on Browse
- In the File Upload window change "Files of type:" from "HTML Files" to "All Files (*.*)"
Note:Files of type .pif .vbs .src .lnk .bat are blocked as they are normally viruses.- Locate the file on your computer
- Click once on the file
- Click on Open
- The path of the file will be displayed in the Attachment field, but the file is not attached until you click Attach.
- To attach multiple files, repeat this procedure for each file. It may take some time for all the attached files to load.
NOTE: You can attach a limit of 3 files totaling no more than 2 MB.Body - Enter your message in the large text box below Options.
When you are finished writing your message click on Send Message - the message will be sent to each recipient specified in the To, CC or BCC fields and a copy will be kept in your "sent-mail" folder. If you would like to cancel the message at any time, click on Cancel Message.
Clicking on the icon for Address Book in the Menu will open a window called "Contacts". From here you can add, delete and update contacts. You can also insert the address of selected contacts into the To, CC, and BCC fields of a new message. These topics are covered in more detail below.
Adding a Contact
- Address - Enter the person's email address in this field. This is case sensitive.
- Nickname - Give the person a nickname. The recipient of the message does not see their nickname. The contact will not be saved without a Nickname.
- Fullname - Enter the person's full name - this is viewable to the recipient of the message.
- Set the drop down box between the Clear and Submit buttons to "Add Entry".
- Click on Submit.
- You should now see the person's full name in the drop down box next to the Select button.
Deleting a Contact
- In the drop down box next to the Select button click on the contact you wish to remove. If that contact's information is not automatically displayed, click on the Select button.
- Set the drop down box between the Clear and Submit buttons to "Delete Entry".
- Click on Submit to delete the contact. Note: there is no undo.
Updating a Contact
- In the drop down box next to the Select button click on the contact you wish to update. If that contact's information is not automatically displayed, click on the Select button.
- Change the Address, Nickname, and Fullname fields as necessary.
- Set the drop down box between the Clear and Submit buttons to "Update Entry".
- Click on Submit to update the entry.
Using LDAP Search
If you do not know a person's email address, you can use this feature to search for it. To search for an address:
- "Search the" - leave this as USF Global Addressbook.
- "directory where the" - from this drop down box choose the information you wish to search on (ex. Name, Email Address, Surame, and First Name). If you know the person's name, you will have the best results searching on Name or Surname. Searching on first name, will return everyone in the University with that name. If you do not know a contact's name, searching on Email Address will return this information.
- The next drop down box tells the search engine how you want to match the information you have supplied (ex. is, sounds like, etc.).
- Enter the information you have about the person in the box to the left of the Start Search button.
- Click on Start Search.
- The page will refresh and you should see the results of you search at the bottom of the Address Book under "LDAP Results".
- To the right of the Select button search the drop down box for the best result of those returned.
- Click on Select.
- If you are composing a new message at the time, you can use the "Insert to to:", "Insert into CC:" or "Insert into BCC:" as usual. If you would like to add this person to your Address Book, click on "Insert into Address Book". After clicking on this button, you will see that the person's information has been inserted into the Address, Nickname, and Fullname fields of the Address Book. Make any necessary changes to this information and then click on Submit (the person is not added until you click on submit).
Taking Advantage of the Address Book
When composing a message you can enter the nickname of your contact in the To, CC, or BCC fields the same way you would enter an email address. The address will be entered automatically when you go to the next field.
Alternatively, you can click on the Contacts link in the "Message Composition" window to open your address book and then:
- Select a contact from the drop down box next to the Select button.
- Click on Select if the contact's information does not appear automatically.
- Choose where to insert the contact by clicking on "Insert into To:", "Insert into CC:", or "Insert into BCC:". You will not get a confirmation after inserting an address.
- To insert additional contacts repeat steps 1-3.
- Click on "Close Window" to return to your message composition.
Clicking on the Preferences icon in the Menu will allow you to change the way your name is displayed, add a signature to your outgoing emails, configure your account to automatically forward your email to another account, and select your default language.
Edit your signature - A signature is a text message appended to the end of your outgoing emails. Type the information (ex. a favorite quote) in the text box and then click on Save Preferences. NOTE: This text file will be included at the bottom of all outgoing mail.
Edit your full name - If you would like to place your name in your outgoing emails so that it is displayed to the recipient of your message, enter your name in this text box and click Save Preferences.
Choose your preferred language - If you prefer your menu options in a language other than English, select one of the available languages from the drop down box and click Save Preferences. Your messages will still be displayed in English.
