Receiving Electronic Mail (primer)

Electronic Mail | Receiving Electronic Mail

Receiving Electronic Mail

To see how to read mail, we bring up the full mail interface of the Web Browser. As noted in the previous section, many browser-based mail systems are in use, so we can only give a representative example. For purposes of this discussion, we will assume that the browser is Explorer 3.0, but other graphical mail interfaces will behave in a very similar way.
The Explorer Mail Interface

In the Explorer browser, select "Read Mail" from the pulldown menu under "Go", as indicated in the adjacent figure. This will launch a mail interface window that looks similar to the figure below. This interface has three basic parts: the main mail window, a set of control buttons, and a set of pulldown menus at the top. Let's begin by examining the main mail window (the portion of the interface below the control buttons).

The Main Mail Window

As indicated in the above figure, the main window of the mail interface has 3 parts:

The portion directly under the row of control buttons lists folders that contain mail, and that can be selected using the mouse cursor. In this example, the folder "OldMail" has been selected, as shown by the name in this field. (Only the currently selected folder is displayed in this one line field. By clicking on the arrow at the right end of the field, you can see all of the available folders.)

Below this is the list of messages contained in the selected folder. In this example, the message with subject "Lunch Meeting" has been selected by the mouse cursor.

The bottom portion of the main window displays the text of the message selected in the message list. This window is also known as the preview pane.

Adjusting the Main Mail Window

The overall size of the mail window can the adjusted by dragging its corners with the mouse. The size of each field in the main mail window can be adjusted by holding the mouse down over a horizontal or vertical bar to grab it (indicated by the cursor assuming a <-||-> shape), and then dragging it to the desired location and releasing the mouse button. Use the mouse to customize your mail window so that you are happy with the way it is displaying things.

The Control Buttons

The function of the control buttons is summarized in the following figure:

These descriptions are rather self-explanatory: from left to right in order these buttons may be used to

compose a new message,
reply to the author of a mail message,
reply to both the author of a message and anyone that she copied it to,
forward a message to someone else,
check the mail server for new mail,
delete a selected message.
Thus, the control buttons allow us to initiate most basic mailing operations just by clicking with the mouse.
The Pulldown Menus

The pulldown menus for the Explorer mail interface perform many of the functions of the control buttons that we have already discussed, and allow the mail program to be customized for your applications. We won't go into details on that now. With the experience that you have gained to this point, you should be able to figure out many of these functions on your own. A good place to start is the Explorer help pages that can be accessed from either the "New Message" or "Internet Mail" windows.


			Electronic Mail \| Receiving Electronic Mail
		Receiving Electronic Mail To see how to read mail, we bring up the full mail interface of the Web Browser. As noted in the previous section, many browser-based mail systems are in use, so we can only give a representative example. For purposes of this discussion, we will assume that the browser is `Explorer` `3.0`, but other graphical mail interfaces will behave in a very similar way. The Explorer Mail Interface In the Explorer browser, select "Read Mail" from the pulldown menu under "Go", as indicated in the adjacent figure. This will launch a mail interface window that looks similar to the figure below. This interface has three basic parts: the main mail window, a set of control buttons, and a set of pulldown menus at the top. Let's begin by examining the main mail window (the portion of the interface below the control buttons). The Main Mail Window As indicated in the above figure, the main window of the mail interface has 3 parts: The portion directly under the row of control buttons lists folders that contain mail, and that can be selected using the mouse cursor. In this example, the folder "OldMail" has been selected, as shown by the name in this field. (Only the currently selected folder is displayed in this one line field. By clicking on the arrow at the right end of the field, you can see all of the available folders.) Below this is the list of messages contained in the selected folder. In this example, the message with subject "Lunch Meeting" has been selected by the mouse cursor. The bottom portion of the main window displays the text of the message selected in the message list. This window is also known as the preview pane. Adjusting the Main Mail Window The overall size of the mail window can the adjusted by dragging its corners with the mouse. The size of each field in the main mail window can be adjusted by holding the mouse down over a horizontal or vertical bar to grab it (indicated by the cursor assuming a <-\|\|-> shape), and then dragging it to the desired location and releasing the mouse button. Use the mouse to customize your mail window so that you are happy with the way it is displaying things. The Control Buttons The function of the control buttons is summarized in the following figure: These descriptions are rather self-explanatory: from left to right in order these buttons may be used to compose a new message, reply to the author of a mail message, reply to both the author of a message and anyone that she copied it to, forward a message to someone else, check the mail server for new mail, delete a selected message. Thus, the control buttons allow us to initiate most basic mailing operations just by clicking with the mouse. The Pulldown Menus The pulldown menus for the Explorer mail interface perform many of the functions of the control buttons that we have already discussed, and allow the mail program to be customized for your applications. We won't go into details on that now. With the experience that you have gained to this point, you should be able to figure out many of these functions on your own. A good place to start is the Explorer help pages that can be accessed from either the "New Message" or "Internet Mail" windows.