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Email Tutorial
Parts of an Email Address
Looking up Addresses To:CC:BC:
Attachments Address
Book File Management
Saving Sent Messages Setting/Options
Email Etiquette Emoticons
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1.
Parts of an Email
Address
Email addresses are made up of 3 main parts. Look at the
sample email addresses below:
Jane_Doe@hotmail.com or JaneDoe@Boisestate.edu
- Jane_Doe is the user name
-
@ signifies that it is and email address (not a web address or URL)
-
hotmail.com or boisestate.edu is the domain name.
Email addresses often give a lot of information about where they are
coming from. The extensions (.com) are the same as those in a Web
address or URL and can tell you if the
email is coming from an educational institution, an organization, the
government, etc. In addition, the domain name may indicate that it is
coming from a k-12 school (.k12), the country or state it is coming from
(.id.us), and other information.
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3.
To: CC: BCC:
Your addressing options include these three boxes:
To: is who the message is going to. You must fill in this blank
for the message to send correctly. There can be more than one person
entered into the to box.
CC: stands for carbon copy. This is when you have written a
message to one person and want another person to know you sent it. For
example, you might send an email to the parents of a student in your
classroom. You could cc the principal so that he/she is aware of the
information you sent out, even though the email wasn't written directly
to the principal. Both parties know that the other received the copy of
the email.
BCC: stands for blind carbon copy. It works the same way as the
carbon copy, except that the person you sent the message to doesn't know
that it was sent to someone else. Using the cc example, if you blind
carbon copy the principal, the parents wouldn't know that the principal
received the message.
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4.
Attachments
Attaching Files
Email is a wonderful way to transfer electronic documents and other
files quickly. In an email message, click the attachment button. It will
open a box asking where the file you wish to send is located.
Type in the file location or hit the browse button to look for the file.
Click on the file and hit open. The file should appear in the message
box, then hit attach to attach it to the message. Hit done to complete
the process. The file is listed on the email message after
Attachments:
Opening Attached
Files
In Hotmail, you simply click on the hotlink to the attachment to open
it. Hotmail asks you to download the file. Some email programs will let
you set your mail to automatically open the file when you click on it,
others want you to download it. You also have the choice in the download
box to open from the current location or to download it onto your
computer. Keep virus protection in mind when opening files from other
people!
Email Viruses
You have probably all received a message at some point telling you not
to open an email that has a virus that will wipe out your hard drive and
give you a terminal illness. Can you get a virus from an email?
Unfortunately, it is now possible to transmit viruses even if you only
open the email and don't download an attachment. Be very careful about
opening mail from people that you don't know. Always check to see if
there is an attachment (if possible) before opening something from
somebody that you do not know. Some email programs can be set to
automatically open attachments when you open the email, and if the file
opens can unleash the virus. Most are set to give you the opportunity to
choose whether or not to open the attached files.
For more information on viruses and virus hoaxes see
http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp
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5.
Address Book
Your email address book is simply a listing of email addresses and
personal information of the people you email. You can go to your address
book and select people to mail to so you don't have to remember their
email address!
In Hotmail you can add people to your address book in a couple of ways.
First, if someone sends you a message you can add them to your address
book by clicking on the "save address" link on the message.
Second, you can click on the address book and "create new".
You will also see options to edit information of your contacts.
Another benefit of the address book is creating groups. This is a list
of people that you frequently mail the same information to. To create
a group in Hotmail, go to the address book and click on the tab on the
top right that says groups. You can enter the name of the group and the
email addresses of the people you want in the group. Now you need
only select the group when you want to send an
email to everyone in the group.
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6.
File Management
This skill is very important, especially in an online class! Many people
are overwhelmed to find 80 new messages in their email, so knowing how
to deal with them is important.
First, create folders for the mail you
need to save. Access folders in Hotmail
by clicking on the folders button on the top of the Hotmail screen. You
have the option of creating new folders and looking at what is stored in
each one. Some email programs let you create folders within folders,
similar to Windows Explorer. Practice your file management skills with
email to prevent an abundance of mail from being overwhelming!
Another helpful feature of email programs is the ability to direct
incoming messages into folders automatically. In Hotmail, go to Options, then click on the
filters link. It will ask you what you want to filter for and where you
want the mail to go.
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7.
Saving Sent Messages
Sometimes having
your email program save a copy of the messages
you send is very important. You have proof of
what you sent and when, and have a backup copy
just in case something happens. Hotmail has a
"Save Outgoing Message" box on top of
messages you are sending out. If you click on the
box it puts a checkmark in it and Hotmail will
automatically put a copy of your message in your
Sent Mail folder. Some email programs
automatically save copies of sent mail, others
will require you to set up in the properties.
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8.
Settings/Options
If what you are looking for isn't obvious, look under settings or
options in your email program. In Hotmail, your settings include your
security settings (you can block messages from people you don't want to
receive mail from), change your password, add an electronic signature,
etc. If your email messages are wider than your screen, you can change
the width under the preferences link. You may want to spend a few
minutes looking at the options available in your email program!
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9.
Email Etiquette
- Email Etiquette is a part of netiquette, the expected
courtesies of Internet use.
- DON'T TYPE MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS. This is known as shouting
in a message, and is considered rude. Then again, if that is your intent....
- Always include a Subject, and make it relevant. The subject should reflect what the message is about. If
you are getting 80 messages a day, you want to be able to know which are
important by looking at the subject line.
Remember this is a method of communication that leaves hard copies around
(similar to letter writing). Provide enough information for the receiver to
know what you are talking about, and use spell check!
- As with all forms of communication, the
author and the reader may interpret the writing differently. People are
often unintentionally offended by email messages!
- Some email programs have limited memory capacity. Don't
send large attachments that will fill up the receivers mailbox. Hotmail has
a memory limit, if you send someone a large file and fill the memory, they
won't be able to receive mail until the file is removed.
- Chain Letters and other fun forwards can be a problem.
They are impersonal and tie up precious email time
and space. Many of these are also hoaxes,
if you aren't sure it is true, don't send it out! For fun see the
Ultimate
Urban Legend and the Ultimate
Email Virus. Some sites that may have information about an email being
legitimate are:
Don't
Spread That Hoax! and Symantec
AntiVirus Research Center - Virus Hoaxes.
- Additional resources for netiquette are:
Netiquette Home
Page
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©
2003 Kerry Rice, Department of Educational Technology,
Boise State University