%brandDTD; ]> Using &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups
This document is provided by Netscape for your information only. It may help you take certain steps to protect the privacy and security of your personal information on the Internet. This document does not, however, address all online privacy and security issues, nor does it represent a recommendation by Netscape about what constitutes adequate privacy and security protection on the Internet.

Using &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups lets you conveniently manage all your Internet communications from one place. You can set up and maintain multiple business and personal mail accounts and Internet newsgroups, all from one window — the Mail & Newsgroups window. In addition, you can access both Netscape Webmail and AOL mail accounts from within the Mail & Newsgroups window.

To start using &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups:

  Mail & Newsgroups icon

 

In this section:

Getting Started with &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups

Reading Messages

Sending Messages

Creating HTML Mail Messages

Using Attachments

Deleting Messages

Using Address Books

Organizing Your Messages

Controlling Junk Mail

Importing Mail from Other Programs

Getting Started with Newsgroups

Working Offline

Signing & Encrypting Messages

Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings

Mail & Newsgroup Preferences


Getting Started with &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups

 

In this section:

Using the Mail Account Setup Wizard

Setting Up Additional Mail and News Accounts

Changing the Settings for an Account

Using AOL Instant Messenger with &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups

 

Using the Mail Account Setup Wizard

To set up a mail or newsgroup account, first open the Window menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups. If you haven't already set up an account, the Account Wizard appears automatically, enabling you to set up an account.

The Account Wizard guides you through the process of creating a new account. If you don't know a setting, click Cancel and ask your Internet service provider (ISP) or help desk.

If an account already exists, the Account Wizard doesn't appear automatically when the Mail window opens. Instead, after opening the Mail window, open the File menu and choose New, then Account. For more details, see Setting Up Additional Mail & News Accounts.

 

Setting Up an AOL or Netscape Webmail Account

America Online (AOL) is one of the most popular Internet service providers. Netscape Webmail is a free mail service that's easy to use and is accessible from anywhere.

If you already have an AOL or Netscape Webmail account, you can use the Account Wizard set up &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups to access mail from your account. From the Edit menu, choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings, and then click Add Account.

If you don't already have a Netscape Webmail account, you can sign up for a free account by clicking the "Free Webmail" icon in the folder pane.

Note: AOL Instant Messenger must be installed in order to set up and use an AOL or Netscape Webmail account. (AOL Instant Messenger is installed by default when you installed &brandShortName;).

 

Setting Up Mail Accounts with an ISP or Email Provider

Before you set up a mail account, your ISP or email provider should give you the following information:

Before you set up a newsgroup account, your ISP or email provider should give you the following information:

To set up a new mail or newsgroup account, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Click Add Account to start the Account Wizard.

    The information requested by the Account Wizard depends on the type of new account you specify in its first window. The boldface headings that follow correspond to the windows you'll see when you're setting up an ISP or email provider account.

  3. New Account Setup: Choose the type of account you want to set up, then click Next.
  4. Identity: Enter the name and email address appropriate for this account, then click Next.
  5. Server Information: Indicate whether you want a POP account or an IMAP account. Not all service providers can support both options. For more information, see Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Server Settings.

    You must also provide the name of your incoming mail server and your outgoing (SMTP) server here. This is the name of the mail server that sends your messages (also known as the SMTP host). Click Next to continue.

    Note: You need to specify only one outgoing mail server (SMTP), even if you have several mail accounts. The name of your SMTP host may not have been explicitly listed in the account setup information provided to you. For example, your SMTP host may be the same as your POP or IMAP host. If in doubt, contact your ISP or system administrator.

  6. User Name: Enter the user name provided by your ISP or email provider, then click Next.
  7. Account Name: Enter whatever name you want to use to refer to this account, then click Next.
  8. Congratulations! Verify that the information you entered is correct. If necessary, verify the information you entered with your ISP or system administrator. When you are sure that it's correct, click Finish to set up your account.
  9. You see your new account listed in the left side of the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box. Click OK to start using your new account.

You are now ready to retrieve messages from your account. For detailed instructions, see Getting New Messages.

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Setting Up Additional Mail and News Accounts

You use the Account Settings dialog box to add a new account or to change information for an existing account, including:

To add a new account or change settings for an existing account, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box. You can perform these tasks:
  2. Click headings under any account's name and modify the corresponding settings in the panel on the right.
  3. Click OK to save your changes.

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Changing the Settings for an Account

To view or change information for an existing mail or newsgroup account, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Click the account name in the left-hand side of the Account Settings dialog box. You see information about the account, such as your email address and signature file, in the right side of the dialog box.
  3. Click any of these items beneath the name of an account to see the corresponding settings:
  4. Click OK to save your changes.

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Using AOL Instant Messenger with &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups

If you use AOL Instant Messenger, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups allows you to quickly correspond with friends and colleagues while you manage your mail. For example, you can quickly add entries on your Buddy lists to your address books, and send online colleagues instant messages from any message window.

Once you've signed on to AOL Instant Messenger, you can see whether the sender or recipients of incoming mail messages are signed on as well. When you see the IM presence icon to the right of someone's name in the envelope of the message, click the person's name, and then select Send Instant Message from the drop-down list to begin a messaging session.

Note: To see someone's IM presence icon, that person's screen name must exist in one of your address books.

To log on to AOL Instant Messenger:

  1. Open the Window menu and choose Instant Messenger, or click the Instant Messenger icon on the status bar.
  2. Type your screen name and password, and click the Sign On icon.
  AOL Instant Messenger icon

For more information on using AOL Instant Messenger, see Getting Started with Instant Messenger.

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Reading Messages

 

In this section:

Getting New Messages

Keeping Messages As New

Choosing How You View the Mail Window

Sorting and Threading Messages

Saving and Printing Messages

Controlling Images, Scripts, and Plugins

 

Getting New Messages

For an IMAP account, you can retrieve new messages automatically and display them in the Inbox by opening Mail & Newsgroups and selecting the Inbox for the IMAP account.

For a POP account, you can select the Inbox and click Get Msgs to retrieve your messages. By default, messages from your POP account are deleted from the POP server when you retrieve them. You can change your POP server settings to automatically download new messages and to store a copy of messages on the server in addition to downloading them to your computer.

You can also set up Mail & Newsgroups to get new messages at startup and to check for new messages at timed intervals.

  Mail & Newsgroups icon

The Mail & Newsgroups icon on the status bar displays a green arrow to notify you when new messages have arrived.

  New mail notification

To set up a mail account to automatically check for new messages and download them, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. If you have multiple accounts, select an account and click the Server Settings category for that account.
  3. Select one or both of the following options in the Server Settings section:
  4. Click OK. Your settings take effect the next time you start &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups.

To set up &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups to play a sound or display an alert when new mail arrives, see Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Mail & Newsgroups.

You can always retrieve messages manually at any time. To get new messages for the selected account or newsgroup, do one of the following:

To get new messages for all your mail accounts, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Click the triangle on the Get Msgs button in the Mail toolbar.
  2. Choose Get All New Messages. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups retrieves new messages for all your mail accounts.

    If you are not currently logged into one of your mail accounts, Mail & Newsgroups first prompts you to enter your user name and password before retrieving new messages for that account. (If you have already stored your user name and password using the Password Manager, Mail & Newsgroups doesn't prompt you for this information.)

Note: You can also open the File menu (in the Mail window) and choose "Get New Messages for".

To get new messages for a specific mail account, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Click the triangle on the Get Msgs button on the Mail toolbar.
  2. Choose the account for which you want to retrieve mail.

Note: Mail & Newsgroups prompts you for your password the first time you retrieve messages for an account. You can choose to have Mail & Newsgroups store your password in the Password Manager at that time.

Password Manager can save all your user names and passwords on your own computer and enter them for you automatically. For more information, see Using the Password Manager.

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Keeping Messages As New

Note: This feature is only available for an AOL account.

You can mark messages you've read as new to keep them in your New Mail folder. If the message is in your Old Mail or Recently Deleted Mail folder, marking it as new will move it back into your New Mail folder after you exit and restart.

To keep a message as new:

  1. Under your AOL account, select the folder that contains the message.
  2. Select the message.
  3. Click Keep as New.

If the message is in your New Mail folder, it gets marked as a new message. If the message is in your Old Mail or Recently Deleted Mail folder, it gets marked as a new message and moves back into your New Mail folder after you exit and restart.

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Choosing How You View the Mail Window

You can customize the layout of the Mail window (the window you see when you choose Mail & Newsgroups from the Window menu):

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Sorting and Threading Messages

To sort messages by categories such as subject, sender, date, or priority, begin from the Mail window:

To reorder column headings, begin from the Mail window:

To group messages by threading (subject), so each message is grouped with all its responses:

     
  Thread button

Tip: To identify unread messages in a collapsed thread where you've read the parent message, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups underlines the parent message. Expand the thread to see the unread messages.

 

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Saving and Printing Messages

To save a mail message as a plain-text, HTML, or Outlook Express file:

  1. In the Mail window, select the message.
  2. Open the File menu and choose Save As, and then choose File.
  3. For "Save as type", choose a file type (HTML, Text, or Mail file). Choose Mail file if you want to save the message so it can be opened by Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express.
  4. Change the filename's extension to end in .html, .txt, or .eml, depending on the file type you chose in step 3.
  5. Choose a destination for the file and click Save.

To print a selected message:

Note: The Print button is off by default. To display the Print button in the Mail toolbar, open the Edit menu and choose Preferences. Select the Mail & Newsgroups category, enable the Print button, and click OK.

 

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Controlling Images, Scripts, and Plugins

By default, you can view remote images in the mail messages you receive. To avoid downloading images embedded in web pages sent as message attachments:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Privacy & Security category, click Images. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Privacy & Security to expand the list.)
  3. Check "Do not load remote images in Mail & Newsgroup messages".
  4. Click OK to have your change take affect.

By default, JavaScript is not enabled and plugins are enabled for mail messages you receive. To change these settings:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Advanced category, click Scripts & Plugins. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Advanced to expand the list.)
  3. Under "Enable JavaScript for", check "Mail & Newsgroups" to enable JavaScript for web pages viewed in mail messages.
  4. Under "Enable Plugins for", uncheck "Mail & Newsgroups" to disable plugins.
  5. Click OK to have your changes take affect.

 

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Sending Messages

 

In this section:

Composing Mail and Newsgroup Messages

Using the Message Composition Window

Addressing a Message

Selecting Message Sending Options

Unsending a Message

Replying to a Message

Forwarding a Message

Confirming That Your Message Was Opened

Checking Message Status

Saving and Editing a Message Draft

Creating and Using Templates

 

Composing Mail and Newsgroup Messages

You can address, compose, reply to, or send a new message by doing one of the following:

Tip: Use the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box to specify the HTML text editor to use for composing messages sent from this account. (You can specify a different editor for each of your accounts.) Select the account, and check "Compose messages in HTML format" to use the HTML text editor for all messages. See Changing the Settings for an Account for more information.

Composing messages in HTML format allows you to use different fonts, text styles (such as bold or italic) and text colors, tables, numbered or bulleted lists, and pictures in your messages. However, some recipients may only be able to read messages composed in plain text format. If you want to use the plain-text editor occasionally, you can hold down the Shift key while clicking the Compose or the Reply button to use the plain-text editor on an as-needed basis.

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Using the Message Composition Window

Use the Compose window to address, compose, and send mail and newsgroup messages. First specify whether you want to compose messages in plain text or HTML in the Account Settings Preferences panel (open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings).

To view the Compose window, click the Compose button on the Mail toolbar.

The Compose window contains the following:

If you've chosen to compose messages using the HTML editor, you see an additional toolbar with text formatting buttons similar to those in &brandShortName; Composer.

For help using the HTML editor, see Formatting Your Web Pages.

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Addressing a Message

To address a mail message:

  1. Type the name in the addressing area.
  2. If you have address autocompletion enabled (it's enabled by default), type the first few letters of the recipient's name and wait for Mail & Newsgroups to complete the address. (Or you can type part of the name and immediately press Enter to have Mail & Newsgroups complete the address.)

  3. If multiple addresses are displayed, select an address and press Enter.
  4. Note: Use a comma to separate multiple addresses on the same line. Do not use a comma to separate first or last names. For example, multiple entries might be:

    user1@netscape.net,user2@netscape.net

  5. If you want this message to be sent from a different account, click the "From" field to select the account you want. See Changing the Account From Which a Message is Sent for more information.
  6. If necessary, click "To" to choose a different recipient type:

Tip: You can quickly address a message by clicking the email address contained in a message you're reading, and then selecting Compose Mail To from the pop-up menu.

Changing the Account From Which a Message is Sent

If you have multiple mail accounts, the account listed in the From field is based on the account (or server) you selected when you choose to create a new message. However, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups also allows you to change the account a message is sent from while you're composing a message. Click the From field to view a list of your accounts and then select the account you want. A copy of the message is saved in the Sent folder of the account where you sent the message from.

About Address Autocompletion

Address autocompletion allows you to address mail easily from the Compose window without having to search for names or type complete names. Mail & Newsgroups automatically checks your address books and an LDAP directory server (if available) and completes the name if it finds a unique match. It also prevents mistakes by showing all possible choices with additional information if it finds multiple matches. Address autocompletion is enabled by default.

If you don't want to use an address that Mail & Newsgroups provides, press Backspace to remove characters and then enter an alternate address.

To disable address autocompletion:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Addressing. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list).
  3. In the Address Autocompletion section, deselect "Local Address Books" and "Directory Server."
  4. Click OK.

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Selecting Message Sending Options

While you're composing a message, you can select these additional message sending options from the Options menu:

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Unsending a Message

Note: This feature is only available for an AOL account.

You can retrieve (unsend) a message if:

To determine if the message can be unsent:

  1. Under your AOL account, click the Sent Mail folder.
  2. Select the message you want to unsend and click the Status button.

The message can be unsent only if the message status for the recipient contains "has not read the message". If you see a date and time next to a recipient's name in the message status, the message has been opened and you cannot unsend it. A status of "you can't check the status of Internet mail" next to a recipient's name indicates that the message was sent to an Internet address (a non-AOL email address) and cannot be unsent.

To unsend the message:

  1. Under your AOL account, click the Sent Mail folder.
  2. Select the message you want to unsend and click Unsend.

The message is removed both from your Sent Mail folder and from the New Mail folder of all recipients. (The message may not be removed until you exit.)

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Replying to a Message

To reply to a mail message:

To include the original message each time you reply to any message, and to specify how to place the original message in the reply:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Composition. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)
  3. Select "Automatically quote the original message when replying."
  4. Specify where in the message to place your reply. "Start my reply above the quoted text" is the default.
  5. Click OK.

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Forwarding a Message

When you forward a message, you can specify how to place new text relative to the original text: inline (in the body of the message; this is the default), or as an attachment.

To forward a message:

  1. Select the message and click Forward.
  2. Type the name or email address of the recipient.
  3. Click Send.

To set the default for forwarding messages:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Composition. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)
  3. For forwarding messages, choose Inline (in the message body) or As Attachment.
  4. Click OK.

Tip: To override the default for forwarding a message, select the message, open the Message menu, and choose Forward As, then choose Inline or Attachment.

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Confirming That Your Message Was Opened

You can use return receipts to notify you when a recipient has displayed (opened) your message. The recipient must be using a mail program that supports the Message Disposition Notification (MDN) standard. Keep in mind that the recipient may choose not to send you a return receipt, even if you've requested one. Messages you send to a newsgroup address will not include a return receipt request, since news servers don't support this feature.

If you send a message from your AOL account and request a return receipt, you will receive return receipts only from AOL recipients who open your message. You will not receive return receipts from recipients who have Internet addresses.

To request return receipts for all messages you send, you can enable the global Return Receipt preferences. For non-AOL accounts, you also use the global Return Receipt preferences to specify how to manage requests you receive for return receipts. You can override these global preferences for individual accounts.

To request a return receipt on a per-message basis:

To automatically request return receipts when sending messages from each of your mail accounts:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Return Receipts. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)
  3. Select "When sending messages, always request a return receipt."
  4. Click OK.

For more information on setting return receipt preferences, see Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Return Receipts.

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Checking Message Status

Note: This feature is only available for an AOL account.

Using your AOL mail account, you can check the status of messages you send to other AOL email addresses. The status displays the date and time you sent the message, and information about whether or not a recipient has opened your message.

To check the status of a message you've sent:

  1. Under your AOL account, click the Sent Mail folder.
  2. Select the message.
  3. Click the Status button.

The message status displays the date and time you sent the message. If the message has been opened, the message status also displays the date and time that the recipient opened the message. If the message status contains "(has not read the message)", the recipient has not yet opened the message. A status of "(you cannot check status of Internet mail)" indicates that the message status cannot be determined because you sent the message to an Internet address (a non-AOL email address).

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Saving and Editing a Message Draft

To save a mail message as a draft so you can complete it later:

To edit or send a message draft, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Click the Drafts folder for the account where you created the message draft.
  2. Click the message that you want to edit.
  3. In the top-right corner of the message, click the Edit Draft button.
  4. Edit the message as necessary.
  5. Click Send to send the message or click Save to save the message so you can complete it later.
  6. Note: Sending the message removes it from the Drafts folder.

Tip: You can also double-click the message to open it for editing. This is especially useful if the message pane is closed.

To delete one or more unwanted message drafts, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Click the Drafts folder for the account where you created the message drafts.
  2. Select the message drafts that you want to delete.
  3. Click Delete in the Mail toolbar.

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Creating and Using Templates

Templates are useful for setting the default format for messages that you send regularly, such as weekly status reports. You can save a message as a template from any window in which it is displayed, including from within a Mail compose window.

To save a message to use as a template:

  1. In the Mail window, click Compose to create a new message and then set the default font, text size, text color, background color, and any other default formatting you want.
  2. Alternatively, open an existing message that already has the formatting you want.

  3. While displaying the message, open the File menu, choose Save As, then choose Template. The message is stored as a template in the Templates folder for the current mail account.

To compose a message using a template:

  1. In the Mail window, select the Templates folder for the account where you created the message template.
  2. Double-click the message template to open it.
  3. Edit the message, then save it (to put it in the Drafts folder) or send it.
  4. Note: Sending the message does not remove the template from the Templates folder. The template is preserved for future use.

To delete one or more unwanted message templates, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Click the Templates folder for the account where you created the message templates.
  2. Select the message templates that you want to delete.
  3. Click Delete in the Mail toolbar.

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Creating HTML Mail Messages

 

In this section:

Using HTML in Your Messages

Choosing HTML Message Sending Options

Specifying Recipients for HTML Messages

Viewing the Message Source for HTML Messages

Using the HTML Mail Question Dialog Box

 

Using HTML in Your Messages

HTML messages can include formatted text, links, images, and tables—just like a web page. However, some recipients may not be able to receive HTML messages. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups allows you to compose mail and newsgroup messages using either the HTML (rich-text) formatting editor or the plain-text editor for each mail account you have. In addition, you can choose whether your addressees should receive HTML or plain-text messages by default, and how Mail & Newsgroups should handle messages when it's not known if an addressee can receive HTML-formatted mail.

To specify whether to use the HTML editor as the default for composing messages, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the mail or newsgroup account you want to use.
  3. Select "Compose messages in HTML format." You see the Formatting toolbar in the Compose window. Leave this box unchecked to use the plain-text editor for this account.

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Editing or Inserting HTML Elements

If you understand how to work with HTML source code, you can edit or insert additional HTML tags, style attributes, and JavaScript in your mail message. If you are not sure how to work with HTML source code, it's best not to change it. To work with HTML code, use one of these methods:

For more information on editing HTML source code, see Using the Advanced Property Editor.

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Choosing HTML Mail Sending Options

By default, Mail & Newsgroups prompts you before sending HTML messages when it's not known whether the recipient's mail program can display HTML-formatted messages.

To choose sending-format options for mail messages, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Send Format. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list).

    Note: This preference applies only to mail messages, not to newsgroup messages.

  3. Select the option you want and then click OK.

If while composing a message you realize that one or more recipients may not be able to receive HTML-formatted mail, you can easily convert the message to a different format when you click Send:

  1. In the Compose window, open the Options menu and choose Format.
  2. Select the format you want to use for sending the message from the submenu:
      • Auto Detect: Mail & Newsgroups chooses the appropriate format for the message text. If it can't determine the format, it asks you to choose a format.
      • Plain Text Only: The message may not display formatting such as bold text, but all mail programs will be able to display the message.
      • Rich Text (HTML) Only: Some mail programs may have trouble displaying an HTML-formatted message. Choose this option only if you are sure the recipient's mail program can display HTML-formatted mail.
      • Plain and Rich (HTML) Text: This uses more disk space, but may be the best choice if you are not sure whether the recipient's mail program can display HTML-formatted mail.
  3. When you've finished composing the message, click Send.

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Specifying Recipients for HTML Messages

You can save time by indicating whether individuals in your address books prefer to receive either HTML messages or plain text messages.

  1. Open the Window menu and choose Address Book.
  2. Select the address book on the left and then select the individual's card on the right.
  3. Click Properties to display the "Card for" dialog box.
  4. In the Name tab, use the "Prefers to receive messages formatted as" drop-down list to select HTML if you know this recipient can read HTML-formatted messages (such as messages that include links, images, or tables).
  5. If this recipient can only read messages sent as plain text (no formatting), then choose Plain Text. If you don't know or are not sure, choose Unknown.

    If you choose Unknown, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups determines the sending format based on the Send Format settings for Mail & Newsgroups in the Preferences dialog box. If Mail & Newsgroups still can't determine the correct format, it will prompt you to choose a sending format when you send the message.

  6. Click OK.

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Viewing the Message Source for HTML Messages

You can quickly view the HTML and other code that generates an HTML message you've received:

  1. In the message list window, open the message.
  2. Open the View menu and choose Message Source.

Tip: To control how Mail displays HTML messages, open the View menu, and choose Message Body As, and then choose Original HTML, Simple HTML, or Plain Text.

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Using the HTML Mail Question Dialog Box

The HTML Mail Question dialog box appears when you try to send a message to someone whose mail program may not be able to display HTML messages or when Mail & Newsgroups cannot determine whether your recipient can display HTML messages. If you are in doubt, send the message in both HTML and plain-text formats.

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Using Attachments

 

In this section:

Attaching a File or Web Page

Viewing and Opening Attachments

Saving Attachments

 

Attaching a File or Web Page

To attach one or more files to an outgoing mail message:

  1. In the Compose window, click Attach or open the File menu and choose Attach File(s). You see the "Attach File(s)" dialog box.

    Tip: You can also click inside the Attachments area in the Compose window to display the Attach File(s) dialog box.

  2. Select the files that you want to attach.
  3. Click Open. The filename(s) appear in the Attachments area.

Tip: You can also drag and drop one or more files from your desktop into the Attachments area in the Compose window.

Note: Make sure the names of the files you are attaching do not include these characters: forward slash (/), colon (:), or semicolon (;).

To attach a web page to an outgoing mail message:

  1. In the Compose window, open the File menu and choose Attach Web Page.
  2. In the dialog box, enter the URL of the page and then click OK. The web page URL appears in the Attachments area.

Tip: When you are viewing a page in the Navigator browser, you can send the page to someone by opening the File menu and choosing Send Page.

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Viewing and Opening Attachments

If you receive a mail attachment that consists of a file type that &brandShortName; can display (such as graphic files and HTML files), you see the attachment displayed inline (in the body of the message). For other file types, Mail & Newsgroups lets you open the attachment using another application, or you can save the attachment on your hard disk.

Tip: To read your messages without waiting for any attachments to download, you can disable attachment display. From the View menu, choose Display Attachments Inline to remove the checkmark and turn off attachment display.

To open the attachment, make sure you have a program on your computer that can open files of the same type as the attachment's file format. For example, if you want to open a .DOC file, make sure you have a program on your computer that can open .DOC files.

To open an attachment:

  1. Double-click the attachment you want (if there is more than one).
  2. In the Downloading dialog box, choose what you want &brandShortName; to do with the attachment:
  3. Click OK.

Note: If you are viewing your mail using an IMAP mail server, all attachments remain on the server.

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Saving Attachments

To save an attachment:

  1. In the right side of the message envelope, under "Attachments," select the attachment that you want to save.
  2. Right-click (Control-click on Macintosh) the attachment and choose Save As from the pop-up menu.
  3. Choose a filename and location for the attachment on your hard disk and then click OK. Mail & Newsgroups downloads the attachment and saves it to the specified location.

Tip: To save all attachments, right-click the first one in the attachment list, and choose Save All. You can then specify the location where you want all the attachments to be saved.

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Deleting Messages

 

In this section:

Deleting POP or IMAP Messages

Moving Messages to and from the Trash

 

Deleting POP or IMAP Messages

How you delete messages depends on your mail server type: POP or IMAP. Deleted POP messages are automatically moved to the Trash folder. IMAP users can set different options for deleting messages.

To delete messages from your Inbox or other folders, begin from the Mail window:

  1. In the message list, select the messages and click Delete. By default, Mail & Newsgroups moves the selected messages to the Trash folder.
  2. To delete messages permanently, open the File menu and choose Empty Trash.

To delete messages without opening them, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the View menu and choose Show/Hide, and then uncheck Message Pane.

    Alternatively, click the Message Pane handle (the ridged area centered at the bottom of the message list) to close the message pane.

  2. In the message list, select the messages and click Delete.

To set deletion preferences for IMAP messages:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Locate the IMAP account you want, and then click the Server Settings category under the account name.
  3. Select the options you want for deleting messages and click OK.

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Moving Messages To and From the Trash

If you use a POP server to deliver your mail, or if you set up IMAP to use the Trash folder, follow these steps to delete messages from your Inbox or other folders:

  1. In the message list, select the messages you want to delete.
  2. Click Delete. Mail & Newsgroups moves the messages to the Trash folder.

To recover messages from the Trash:

  1. Click the Trash folder.
  2. Select the messages you want to recover and drag them to another folder.

To delete messages permanently:

[ Return to beginning of section ]

 


Using Address Books

 

In this section:

About Address Books

Adding Entries to Your Address Books

Creating a New Address Book

Creating a New Address Book Card

Creating a Mailing List

Editing a Mailing List

Searching Address Books and Directories

Importing Address Books

Exporting Address Books

Syncing Entries with Your Webmail or AOL Address Book

Adding and Removing LDAP Directories

 

About Address Books

Address books store email addresses and contact information for people you typically send mail to, such as colleagues, friends, and family. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups provides you with two address books: the Personal Address Book and the Collected Addresses Book—and you can create additional address books as well. You can also import address books from other mail programs and previous versions of &brandShortName;. The contents of these address books are stored locally on your hard disk.

Your address book may also list email addresses from an LDAP directory, which is located on an LDAP directory server. The directory server stores email addresses of people that are not included in your locally-stored address books. The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an industry-standard method for accessing Internet or intranet directory services such as corporate address books.

Personal Address Book

Use the Personal Address Book to add specific names of your choice. You can create mailing lists and edit individual address entries. If you have a Netscape Webmail or an AOL account, you can synchronize entries in your Personal Address Book with those in your Webmail or AOL Address Book.

By default, the Personal Address Book automatically collects the email addresses contained in outgoing mail messages. Addresses from outgoing messages are stored in the Personal Address Book as soon as you click Send.

Collected Addresses

The Collected Addresses Book is provided as an extra address book for your convenience.

To change address book settings, you use the preferences for email address collection.

LDAP Directory (if available)

An LDAP directory (also known as an address lookup service) stores email addresses of recipients who are not in your locally-stored address books. LDAP directories offer you access to large, centrally maintained databases of email addresses, which is especially useful with address autocompletion.

Automatic address collection is enabled by default. To change automatic address collection settings, begin in the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Addressing. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)
  3. Under Email Address Collection, choose whether you want to:
  4. Click OK.

Opening the Address Book Window

To open the Address Book window:


Changing the Address Book Window Display

To customize how the Address Book window and the cards are displayed:

  1. Open the Window menu and choose Address Book. You see the Address Book window.
  2. In the Address Book window, open the View menu and choose from the following display options:

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Adding Entries to Your Address Books

You can use any of the following ways to add entries to your address books:

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Creating a New Address Book

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups provides a default personal address book, but you can create additional address books.

To create a new address book:

  1. Click the Address Book icon in the lower-left corner of any &brandShortName; window, or open the Window menu and choose Address Book. You see the Address Book window.
    Address Book icon
  2. In the Address Book window, open the File menu, choose New, and choose Address Book. You see the New Address Book dialog box.
  3. Type the name of the new address book, and click OK.

Tip: To rename an address book, double-click its name (in the list of address books) to display the Address Book Properties dialog box, where you can enter a new name.

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Creating a New Address Book Card

Address book cards can be used to store names, postal addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and information such as whether the addressee prefers to receive plain-text or HTML-formatted messages.

To create an address book card for an individual:

  1. Click the Address Book icon on the status bar or open the Window menu and choose Address Book.
  2. Click New Card. (If you have multiple address books, select the one to which you want to add a card.)
  3. Each New Card dialog box has three tabs:

Tip: To quickly add entries to your address book, click any email address in messages you receive and select Add to Address Book from the drop-down list. The New Card dialog box appears where you can complete the information.

 

Viewing or Editing Card Properties

To view or edit the properties for an individual card:

  1. Select the card from the list of entries in the Address Book window.
  2. Click Properties.

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Creating a Mailing List

If you regularly send messages to a group of recipients, you can quickly address a message by using a mailing list that contains the names you want.

To create a mailing list and add it to your address book:

  1. In the Address Book window, click New List.
  2. Enter the following information in the Mailing List dialog box:
  3. Type email addresses to add them to the mailing list.
  4. Click OK.

In the left side of the Address Book window, the mailing list appears underneath the address book you added it to.

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Editing a Mailing List

Mailing lists are stored in the address book in which you created them.

To remove a member from the list, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open Window menu and choose Address Book.
  2. Expand the address book containing your mailing list by clicking the small triangle beside the address book title.
  3. Highlight the mailing list by clicking its name. The list members appear to the right of the mailing list name.
  4. Click the entry you wish to delete.
  5. Click the Delete button.

To add members to a mailing list:

  1. Open Window menu and choose Address Book.
  2. Expand the address book containing your mailing list by clicking the small triangle beside the address book title.
  3. Highlight the mailing list by clicking its name.
  4. Click Properties.
  5. Add or remove entries as necessary.
  6. Click OK when you are done.

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Searching Address Books and Directories

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups lets you quickly search an address book or directory by name or email address, or use a combination of criteria to perform a more specific search through an address book or directory.

To quickly search an address book or directory for a name or email address, begin from the Address Book window:

  1. In the Address Book window, in the list of address books, select the address book or directory that you want to search.
  2. In the "Name or Email contains" field, type the name or email address that you want to find. You can type only part of the name or email address, or you can type the exact text that you want to find.

    As soon as you stop typing, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups displays only those entries where the name or email address contains the search text you entered.

  3. Click Clear to erase the search text and show all entries.

 

Searching for Specific Entries

You can search address books or directories for specific entries. If you are not already viewing the Advanced Address Book Search dialog box, begin from the Address Book window:

  1. Open the Tools menu and choose Search Addresses. You see the Advanced Address Book Search dialog box.
  2. Next to "Search in", choose the address book or directory through which you want to search.
  3. Select the matching option Mail & Newsgroups uses to search for entries either that match all or at least one of the conditions (criteria) that you choose.
  4. Click More to add criteria and Fewer to remove them.
  5. Click Search to begin, or click Clear to reset your entries. The search results appear in lower part of the dialog box.
  6. To sort the entries in a different order, click the column that you want to sort by.
  7. To view the card for an entry, select the entry and click Properties.
  8. To compose a message to selected recipients, select one or more entries and click Compose.

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Importing Address Books

If you have a Netscape 6 address book from another user profile or computer, or if you have an address book from a previous version of Netscape Communicator or another mail program, you can import its entries into the Address Book window as a new address book. Keep in mind that when you upgrade a user profile from an earlier version of Netscape, your address books are automatically included, so there's no need to import them.

You can import address books from Netscape Communicator, Netscape 6, Eudora®, Microsoft® Outlook®, Microsoft® Outlook® Express, or text files (LDIF, tab-delimited (.tab), comma-separated (.csv), or text (.txt) formats). When you import an address book, Mail & Newsgroups creates a new address book with the imported entries.

On Windows systems, you can also import mail messages and settings from Communicator, Eudora, Outlook, and Outlook Express.

To import an address book, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Tools menu, and choose Import. You see the Mail Import Wizard.
  2. Follow the instructions to import address books.
  3. Tip: Communicator address book files (pab.na2) are stored in your user profile directory (for example, C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users, where \Users contains the user profiles directories).

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Exporting Address Books

You can export a &brandShortName; address book if you later want to import it into another user profile, move it to another computer, or use it with another program that can import address books. You can export an address book to one of these file formats: Netscape (.ldif), tab-delimited (.tab), comma-separated (.csv), or text (.txt) formats.

To export an address book, begin from the Address Book window:

  1. Select the address book that you want to export.
  2. Open the Tools menu, and choose Export.
  3. In the Export Address Book dialog box, browse to the location where you want to save the address book file.
  4. Choose the file format for the exported address book (.ldif, comma-separated, or tab-delimited).
  5. Enter a name for the address book file.
  6. Click Save.

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Syncing Entries with Your Webmail or AOL Address Book

Synchronizing address books saves you time when you are away from your computer, because your address book is always accessible on the web from your Webmail or AOL account.

You can synchronize address books in your Netscape Webmail or AOL account with entries in your &brandShortName; Personal Address Book. If you add, edit, or delete an entry in one address book, you can automatically update the other address books so that entries in both address books match.

Note: To synchronize your address book, you must already have an AOL or Netscape screen name. If you do not yet have a screen name, you can sign up for one at http://home.netscape.com.

To perform an address book sync, begin from the Address Book window:

  1. In the Address Book window, click Sync on the toolbar or choose Sync &brandShortName; Address Book from the Tools menu.
  2. Mail & Newsgroups prompts you to enter the user name (screen name) and password for the account you want to use for address book synchronization.

    For example, if you want to synchronize your Personal Address Book with your Netscape Webmail address book, enter your Webmail user name and password. If you want to synchronize your Personal Address Book with your AOL address book, enter your AOL user name and password.

  3. Click OK to begin synchronization.

You can continue to synchronize your address book throughout your Mail session (without having to log in again). Just click Sync or choose Sync &brandShortName; Address Book from the Tools menu.

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Adding and Removing LDAP Directories

Adding an LDAP directory to your address book allows you to search the directory for email addresses and other contact information. You can also use the directory for address autocompletion when addressing mail messages.

You typically add or remove LDAP directories using instructions provided by your system administrator. Check with your system administrator for the information you will need in order to add a new directory to your address book.

To add a new directory, begin from the Address Book window:

  1. Open the File menu, and choose New, and then choose LDAP Directory. You see the Directory Server Properties dialog box.
  2. Type the following information in the Directory Server Properties dialog box General tab:
  3. Click the Advanced tab to configure additional directory server settings.
  4. Type the following information:
  5. Click OK to close the Directory Server Properties dialog box.

The directory you added appears in the list of address books in the Address Book window.

To delete a directory, begin from the Address Book window:

  1. Select an LDAP directory from the list of Address Books.
  2. Click Delete.

For information on downloading or synchronizing a directory for offline use so that you can search it or use it for address book autocompletion while working offline, see Downloading Directory Entries for Offline Use.

 

Directory Server Settings

If you are not already viewing the Directory Server Settings dialog box, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Window menu, and choose Address Book.
  2. In the list of address books, select a directory.
  3. Click Properties.

General Tab

Advanced Tab

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Organizing Your Messages

 

In this section:

Creating a Folder

Renaming a Folder

Moving or Copying a Folder

Filing Messages in Folders

Sharing Folders With Other Users (IMAP Only)

Labeling Messages

Marking or Flagging Messages

Using Message Views

Creating Message Filters

Searching Through Messages

 

Creating a Folder

Note: This feature is not available for AOL accounts.

To create a message folder, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the File menu, choose New, and then Folder. You see the New Folder dialog box.
  2. Type the name of the folder.
  3. Click the drop-down list and choose a folder location and click OK. Your new folder appears in your Mail Folders list.

Tip: Double-clicking a folder opens it in a new Mail window.

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Renaming a Folder

Note: This feature is not available for AOL accounts.

To rename an existing folder, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select the folder you want to rename.
  2. Open the File menu and choose Rename Folder. You see the Rename Folder dialog box.
  3. Type the new name and click OK.

Note: If you rename a folder that you've been using to store filtered messages, the filter will automatically update to use the renamed folder.

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Moving or Copying a Folder

You can copy a folder and its contents to another mail account, or move a folder within the same mail account.

To move or copy a folder, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select the folder you want to move or copy.
  2. Do one of the following:

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Filing Messages in Folders

You can move messages from one folder to another by using either of these methods:

To copy a message from one folder to another:

  1. Select the message and right-click to display the pop-up menu.
  2. Select "Copy To" and then select the destination account and folder from the drop-down list.

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Sharing Folders With Other Users (IMAP Only)

Users with IMAP mail accounts can share mail folders with other users on the same network. Sharing folders allows several users to see and work with the same messages, similar to a newsgroup. To use shared folders, your IMAP mail server must support Access Control List (ACL) management. Check with your system administrator or help desk if you are not sure that shared folders are supported by your IMAP mail server.

To share a mail folder with other users on your network, or to view sharing information for a folder, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Within an IMAP account, select a folder that you want to share, or select a folder whose sharing privileges you want to view.

    Folders listed under Local Folders, or folders listed under a POP mail account cannot be shared.

  2. Open the Edit menu, and choose Folder Properties.
  3. Click the Sharing tab.
  4. Click Privileges. You may be prompted to enter your network user name and password.

    The Privileges button is only available if the IMAP mail server allows you to set folder sharing privileges. If this button is not available, you can view the folder sharing privileges for this folder but cannot change them.

  5. Follow the instructions on the screen to add users and to set their folder access privileges.
  6. Click OK to confirm your changes.
  7. Click OK to close the Folder Properties dialog box.

In the list of folders for your mail account, a shared folder displays a distinctive folder icon to indicate that it is shared.

To send a message that tells others how they can subscribe to your shared folder, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select the shared folder.
  2. Right-click to display a pop-up menu, and choose Copy Folder Location.
  3. Click Compose to display a Mail compose window.
  4. Click in the message body, open the Edit menu, and choose Paste.
  5. Address the message, type a subject, and type the message text. Tell message recipients that they can subscribe to the shared folder by clicking the link you pasted into the message.

    Only message recipients who share the same network will be able to subscribe to your shared folder.

  6. Click Send.

 

Subscribing to a Shared Folder

Subscribing to a shared folder is similar to subscribing to a newsgroup. To subscribe to a shared folder, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the File menu and choose Subscribe. You see the Subscribe dialog box.
  2. If necessary, click the Account drop-down list to choose another IMAP mail account.
  3. Select the folder that you want to subscribe to.
  4. Click Subscribe or click in the Subscribe column next to the folder. You see a checkmark next to each folder to which you subscribe. Click Unsubscribe to cancel a selection.
  5. Click OK. The list of your subscribed folders appears in the Mail window.

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Labeling Messages

You can apply labels to messages to help you organize and prioritize them. You can apply a standard color and text label to messages, or you can customize the label colors or label text to suit your needs.

One powerful way to use labels is to set up a message filter to automatically label incoming messages from a specific sender. For example, you can set up a message filter so that incoming messages from your boss are labeled "Important" and appear in red. See Creating Message Filters for more information.

You can also quickly view messages you've labeled by choosing a message view. See Using Message Views for more information.

 

Applying a Label

To apply a label to a message, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select the message you want to label.
  2. Open the Message menu, and choose Label.
  3. Choose the label you want to apply from the list.

The message header changes to the label color you chose. To see the label text, you must display the Label column in the Mail window.

Tip: To quickly label messages or remove a label, select one or more messages and press 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 on your keyboard. Press 0 to remove a label.

To display the Label column, begin from the Mail window:

Note: Message labels apply on a per-account basis. For example, if you move or copy a labeled message to another mail account, the label is not preserved. Similarly, if you forward a labeled message to another recipient, the label is not preserved. For IMAP mail accounts, if your IMAP server supports user-defined keywords, message labels will persist when you log in to your mail account from a different location. In an AOL mail account, when a labeled message is automatically moved from New Mail to the Old Mail folder, it loses its label.

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Customizing Labels

You can customize label colors or text to suit your needs.

To customize labels, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu, and choose Preferences. You see the Preferences dialog box.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Labels. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)
  3. Edit the label text, or replace it with your own label text. The label can be up to 32 characters long.
  4. To change the label color, click the color block next to that label and select a new color.
  5. Click OK.

Your changes are immediately applied to all labeled messages in all your mail accounts.

Tip: To restore the default label text and colors, follow the steps above to display the label settings, and click Restore Defaults.

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Sorting Messages by Label

To sort messages by label, begin from the Mail window:

  1. To display the Label column if it is hidden, click the Show/Hide Columns icon and select Label from the list.
  2. Click the Label column to sort messages by label, and within each label type, to sort messages by date.

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Removing Labels

To remove a message label, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select one or more labeled messages.
  2. Open the Message menu, and choose Label.
  3. Choose "None" for the message label.

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Marking or Flagging Messages

You might want to mark a message you've read as unread if you later want to re-read the message or respond to it.

To mark a message as unread, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select a Mail or Newsgroup folder to display its messages.
  2. Click in the Read column of each message you want to mark as unread. Messages marked as unread display a symbol in the Read column. Messages marked as read display a symbol in the Read column. If the Read column is not visible, click the Show/Hide Columns icon and select Read from the list.
Read column

You can flag messages that you later want to download for offline use.

To flag messages, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select a Mail or Newsgroup folder to display its messages.
  2. Click in the Flag column of each message you want to download. A flag appears where you clicked to indicate that the message has been flagged. If the Flag column is not visible, click the Show/Hide Columns icon and select Flag from the list.
Flag column

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Using Message Views

Message views help you locate, organize, and prioritize your messages by quickly displaying only those messages that match specific criteria. For example, you can choose a message view that only displays today's messages, or switch to another message view that only displays messages you've read that include attachments. For your convenience, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups comes with a pre-defined set of message views, but you can also create your own custom message views.

To display messages using a pre-defined message view, begin from the Mail window:

  1. From the View drop-down menu, choose one of the following message views:
  2. If no messages match your view criteria, choose another view or choose All to return to the default view.

The message view persists if you view messages in another folder or account. To return to viewing all messages (the default view), choose All from the View drop-down menu.

See Labeling Messages for information on creating labels.

 

Editing or Deleting a Message View

To edit the name or criteria for a message view, begin from the Mail window:

  1. From the View drop-down menu, choose Customize...
  2. In the Customize Message Views dialog box, select a view.
  3. Click Edit.
  4. Follow the instructions under Creating a Custom Message View.

To delete a message view, begin from the Mail window:

  1. From the View drop-down menu, choose Customize...
  2. In the Customize Message Views dialog box, select a view.
  3. Click Delete.

 

Creating a Custom Message View

If you are not already viewing the Message View Setup dialog box, begin from the Mail window:

  1. From the View drop-down menu, choose Customize...
  2. In the Customize Message Views dialog box, click New.
  3. Enter a name for the message view. This name is added to the View drop-down menu.
  4. Select which matching option Mail & Newsgroups will use to display messages that match all or at least one of the conditions (criteria) that you choose.
  5. Use the drop-down lists to indicate the view criteria (for example, "Subject" and "contains") and then type the text or phrase that you want to match.
  6. Tip: To view messages that contain a header not listed in the first drop-down menu (for example, if you want to view messages that include the header Resent-From), choose Customize and type the header you want to search for. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups adds your custom header to the drop-down list, so you can then choose it to view matching entries. Make sure you enter the custom header correctly, since Mail will only find entries that exactly match what you type.

  7. Click More to add view criteria and Fewer to remove them.
  8. Click OK to add the new view to the View drop-down menu.
  9. Choose the new view from the View drop-down menu, and make sure that it only displays the messages that match your criteria. If necessary, edit the view criteria to achieve the results you want.

Keep in mind that the view may display no matching messages, if no messages match the criteria you chose.

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Creating Message Filters

Message filters allow you to manage and organize your messages. You can create message filters that &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups uses to automatically perform certain actions on incoming messages based on criteria you specify. For example, you can create a message filter that automatically moves incoming messages to a particular folder. Message filters operate on a per-account basis.

If you are not already viewing the Message Filters dialog box, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Tools menu and choose Message Filters. You see the Message Filters dialog box.
  2. If you have multiple mail accounts, choose the one to which you want to apply the filter.
  3. Click New. You use the Filter Rules dialog box to specify the types of messages to act on, and the action you want the filter to perform.
  4. Type a name for the filter.
  5. Select the matching option you want Mail to use: "all of the following" conditions (criteria) you choose, or "any of the following".
  6. Use the drop-down lists to choose the search criteria (for example, "Subject," "Sender," "contains," "doesn't contain") and then type the text or phrase you want to match.

    Tip: To search for messages that contain a header not listed in the first drop-down menu (for example, if you want to search for messages that include the header Resent-From), choose Customize and type the header you want to search for. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups adds your custom header to the drop-down list, so you can then choose it to search for matching entries. Make sure you enter the custom header correctly, since Mail will only find entries that exactly match what you type.

  7. Click More to add criteria and Fewer to remove them.
  8. Choose the action(s) you want the filter to perform on the messages (for example, Move to Folder). Scroll the list to see more choices.

    Tip: To automatically label incoming messages, choose "Label the message".

  9. If necessary, create a new folder in which to store the messages.
  10. Click OK to confirm your settings.
  11. Click OK in the Message Filters dialog box. The filter begins filtering incoming messages as soon as you click OK.

To manage your filters, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Tools menu and choose Message Filters. You see the Message Filters dialog box.
  2. If you have multiple mail accounts, choose the one to which you want to apply the filter.
  3. Choose from the following:
  4. Click Filter Log to display information about filter activity.
  5. Click OK when you are done managing your filters. If you created a new filter, it begins filtering incoming messages as soon as you click OK.

Note: If you delete a folder that you've been using to store filtered messages, the filter will no longer work. Incoming messages that match the filter criteria will appear in your Inbox. If you rename or move the folder, the filter will automatically update to use the renamed or moved folder.

Tip: Filters don't apply to existing messages. If you have existing messages in a folder that you want to filter, select the folder and choose Run Filters on Folder from the Tools menu.

Tip: Messages are filtered before they are analyzed to determine if they are junk mail or not junk mail.

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Filtering Messages From a Specific Sender

You can quickly create a filter for messages from a particular sender. For example, if you want to automatically move all incoming messages from your child's teacher into a folder called "School", you can quickly set up a filter to do this.

To create a filter for messages from a specific sender, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select a message from a specific sender.
  2. Open the Message menu, and choose Create Filter From Message. You see the Filter Rules dialog box. Using the sender's email address, &brandShortName; prefills the filter name, the filter matching criteria, and the filter action (Move to folder).
  3. Choose a destination folder in which to store the incoming messages from the specified sender, or create a new folder.
  4. Click OK to confirm your settings. You see the Message Filters dialog box, where you can create, delete, or edit message filters.
  5. Click OK. The filter begins filtering incoming messages from the specified sender as soon as you click OK.

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Applying Filters Retroactively

To apply all filters to a folder that contains messages you've already received, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select the folder that contains the messages you want to filter.
  2. Open the Tools menu, and choose Run Filters on Folder.

To apply a specific filter to messages in a folder, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Tools menu, and choose Message Filters.
  2. Select the filters you want to apply. Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select multiple filters.
  3. Next to Run selected filter(s) on, select the folder that contains the messages you want to filter.
  4. Click Run Now.

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Searching Through Messages

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups lets you quickly find text in a single message, search messages by subject or sender, or use a combination of criteria to perform a thorough search through all messages in a specific mail folder, newsgroup, or account.

To locate text in a single message, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select the message, open the Edit menu, and choose Find in This Message.
  2. Type the text that you want to locate in the dialog box.
  3. Click Find to locate the first occurrence of the text.
  4. Continue clicking Find to locate additional occurrences, or click Cancel when you are done.
  5. Choose Find Again from the Edit menu to continue searching for the text throughout the rest of the message.

To quickly search for messages in a selected folder by subject or sender, begin from the Mail window:

  1. To the right of "Subject or Sender contains:", type the subject text or sender name that you want to find. You can type only part of the subject or sender, or you can type the exact word or name that you want to find.

    As soon as you stop typing, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups displays only those messages in the selected folder where the subject or sender contains the search text you entered.

  2. Click Clear to erase the search text and show all messages in the selected folder.

 

Searching for Specific Messages

You can search mail folders or newsgroups for specific messages. If you are not already viewing the Search Messages dialog box, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Tools menu and choose Search Messages. You see the Search Messages dialog box.
  2. Next to "Search for messages in", choose the account, newsgroup, or folder through which you want to search.
  3. Select "Search subfolders" to include all subfolders in the search.
  4. Select which matching option Mail & Newsgroups will use to search for messages that match all or at least one of the conditions (criteria) that you choose.
  5. Use the drop-down lists to indicate the search criteria (for example, "Subject" and "contains") and then type the text or phrase that you want to match.

    Tip: To search for messages that contain a header not listed in the first drop-down menu (for example, if you want to search for messages that include the header Resent-From), choose Customize and type the header you want to search for. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups adds your custom header to the drop-down list, so you can then choose it to search for matching entries. Make sure you enter the custom header correctly, since Mail will only find entries that exactly match what you type.

  6. Click More to add criteria and Fewer to remove them.
  7. Click Search to begin, or click Clear to reset your entries. The search results appear in lower part of the Search Messages dialog box.

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Controlling Junk Mail

Mail automatically detects incoming messages that appear to be junk mail (also known as spam). Junk mail detection is turned on by default for all accounts.

When Mail detects a message that appears to be junk mail, it marks the message's Junk Status column with a junk mail icon, like this:

By default in a new profile, the Junk Status column is located to the right of the Subject column, but you can relocate it by dragging it to the new location.

 

In this section:

Training Mail to Detect Junk Mail

Viewing Junk Mail

Junk Mail Tips

Using Junk Mail Controls

 

Training Mail to Detect Junk Mail

At first, you must "train" Mail to recognize what's junk. Initially, Mail may make some mistakes by marking some messages as junk that you don't consider to be junk mail, or by not recognizing some messages as junk that you do consider to be junk mail. By training Mail to recognize junk mail, you will improve the accuracy of junk mail detection.

Once Mail is correctly identifying junk mail, you can use the Junk Mail Controls to automatically move incoming junk mail to the Junk folder.

To train Mail to identify what is junk:

To train Mail to identify what's not junk:

Over time, Mail becomes smarter at identifying the types of messages you consider to be junk. You'll know when Mail is fully trained, because you'll no longer have to correct it.

To train Mail more quickly: Avoid marking messages as junk and then later marking them as not junk. If you mark a message as junk, and then later mark it as not junk, Mail is not immediately trained to recognize that new messages of the same type are not junk. It may take several more times of marking these types of new messages as not junk before Mail is fully trained.

 

Viewing Junk Mail

Messages marked as junk mail are marked with a special junk mail icon, as described in the preceding section.

To view all junk mail messages by grouping them together:

You may have to scroll up or down to see the junk mail messages grouped together.

To only display messages not marked as junk in a folder:

 

Junk Mail Tips

To quickly delete messages you've marked as junk: From the Tools menu, choose Delete Mail Marked as Junk in Folder. If you selected the Junk folder, you can use this command to quickly empty the Junk folder.

Using multiple profiles: If you access your mail accounts using more than one profile (for example, if you access your Mail from two different computers, one located at work and the other one at home), you must train Mail to detect junk mail for each profile. Also, make sure you use the same junk mail settings for both profiles. Otherwise, junk mail will be analyzed differently in each profile, with different results.

Using filters: Keep in mind that if you've set up a filter that moves new messages into a folder, the new messages are analyzed after they arrive in the destination folder specified by the filter.

While Mail is analyzing messages: Try to avoid clicking Stop while Mail is analyzing new messages. Mail starts analyzing the junk status of new messages when you open a folder that contains new messages. While Mail is busy analyzing messages, the &brandShortName; logo in the upper right corner of the Mail window will appear animated, and the status bar at the bottom of the Mail window will flash the text "Downloading message..." as each new message is analyzed.

Clicking the Stop button while Mail is analyzing messages cancels junk mail analyzing before all messages have been analyzed. Messages that Mail did not analyze do not get analyzed the next time you open that folder (since they are no longer marked as new). Instead, you will have to manually mark them as junk or not junk. Alternatively, you can select the folder and choose Run Junk Mail Controls on Folder from the Tools menu.

Messages with future dates: If you've set Junk Mail Controls to automatically delete messages in the Junk folder, but you notice that some messages still remain in the Junk folder, it's possible that the messages have future dates. Mail cannot automatically delete junk messages that have future dates. You must manually delete these messages.

If you have a slow connection: To detect junk mail, Mail must analyze the contents of each message to determine whether the message is junk. If you have a slow dialup connection, this may cause mail retrieval to seem a bit slow the first time you open a folder that has new messages.

The slowdown is proportional to the number of messages in the folder — the more you have, the longer it takes to analyze all the messages. If you have fewer than a hundred or so messages in the folder at any given time, you probably won't notice any slowdown.


Using Junk Mail Controls

If you are not already viewing the Junk Mail Controls dialog box, open the Tools menu and choose Junk Mail Controls.

Note: To improve the accuracy of junk mail detection, you must first train Mail to recognize junk mail. For information on how to get started, see Controlling Junk Mail.

To apply Junk Mail Controls to messages in a folder: Select the folder, open the Tools menu, and choose Run Junk Mail Controls on Folder.

Note for AOL accounts: By default, Mail moves junk mail to the local Junk folder (under Local Folders). When Mail moves junk mail to the local Junk folder, they are also copied to the Recently Deleted Mail folder under your AOL account, where they are deleted after 24 hours. If you want to move a message from the Recently Deleted Mail folder back into your AOL New Mail folder, you must do so before the message gets deleted from the Recently Deleted Mail folder. Otherwise, you can find the message in the Junk folder under Local Folders.

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Importing Mail from Other Programs

This section describes how to import mail messages and settings from Netscape Communicator, Outlook, Outlook Express, and Eudora. To import address books from these programs, see Importing Address Books.

 

In this section:

Importing Mail Messages

Importing Mail Settings

 

Importing Mail Messages

To import mail messages from Netscape Communicator, Outlook, Outlook Express, or Eudora, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Tools menu, and choose Import. You see the Import Wizard.
  2. Follow the instructions to import mail messages.

For Netscape Communicator, the wizard imports a copy of all Communicator mail folders included under Local Folders. Imported mail is added as a new folder under Local Folders in the Mail window. (The Communicator mail folders still remain in their original location).

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Importing Mail Settings

To import mail settings from Outlook, Outlook Express, or Eudora, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Tools menu, and choose Import. You see the Import Wizard.
  2. Follow the instructions to import mail settings.

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Getting Started With Newsgroups

 

In this section:

Subscribing to Newsgroups

Reading Newsgroup Messages

Posting Newsgroup Messages

Contributing to Ongoing Discussions

Monitoring Threads

Removing a Newsgroup

Adding a Newsgroup Server

 

Subscribing to Newsgroups

If you have set up an account on a newsgroup server, you can join (subscribe) to newsgroups (also called discussion groups).

To subscribe to a newsgroup, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the File menu and choose Subscribe. You see the Subscribe dialog box.
  2. If necessary, click the Account drop-down list to choose another newsgroup account.
  3. Select a newsgroup. To select more than one newsgroup, Ctrl+click (Command+click on Macintosh OS) each additional newsgroup.
  4. Click Subscribe or click in the Subscribe column next to the newsgroup. You see a checkmark next to each newsgroup to which you subscribe. Click Unsubscribe to cancel a selection.
  5. Click OK. The list of your subscribed newsgroups appears in the Mail window.

If you are an IMAP mail user, you can also subscribe to message folders located on an IMAP server. (Your Inbox is a type of message folder.) Follow the instructions above for subscribing, but select an account from the Account drop-down list. For more information on sharing folders and subscribing to folders, see Sharing Folders With Other Users (IMAP Only).

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Reading Newsgroup Messages

When you open your newsgroup server, you see the list of newsgroups to which you subscribe. The server downloads the headers of new messages in each newsgroup.

To read newsgroup messages, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Double-click a newsgroup server icon to see its newsgroups. (If there are no newsgroups, you may need to subscribe to one.)
  2. Click a newsgroup name to see its messages.
  3. Click a message to read it. Click the thread button to display all the responses below the original message. You can click any header to display its message. You can start a new thread or post a message in response.

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Posting Newsgroup Messages

To start new threads (discussions):

  1. From the list of your subscribed newsgroups in the Mail window, select a newsgroup.
  2. Click Compose.
  3. Compose your message, and click Send to post it.
  4. Click Get Msgs to see your posting on the newsgroup.

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Contributing to Ongoing Discussions

To post a response to the newsgroup:

  1. In the message list, select a message to reply to.
  2. Click Reply.
  3. Compose your message, and click Send to post it.

To reply to an individual as well as post a response to the group:

  1. In the message list, select a message to reply to.
  2. Click Reply All.
  3. Compose your message, and click Send to post it.

To redirect a posting to another newsgroup:

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Monitoring Threads

To monitor unread messages in threads that are of interest to you:

  1. Select a message in a thread.
  2. Open the Message menu, and choose Watch Thread.
  3. If you want to monitor additional threads, repeat steps 1 and 2 for messages in additional threads.
  4. When you're ready to monitor messages in these threads, open the View menu, choose Messages, and then choose Watched Threads with Unread. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups only displays the watched threads that contain unread messages.
  5. Open the View menu, choose Messages, and then choose All to return to viewing all messages in the newsgroup.

To ignore a message thread:

  1. Select a message in the thread.
  2. Open the Message menu, and choose Ignore Thread. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups marks all messages in the thread as read, and new replies posted to the thread will appear as read.
  3. To view ignored threads, open the View menu, choose Messages, and then choose Ignored Threads.

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Removing a Newsgroup

To remove a newsgroup from your list:

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Adding a Newsgroup Server

If the newsgroup you want to subscribe to is on a different server, you must first set up access to that server.

To set up an additional newsgroup server, open the File menu in the Mail window and choose New, then Account.

Once you've set up access to the new server, you can subscribe to newsgroups on that server. In the Mail window, open the File menu, and choose Subscribe.

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Working Offline (IMAP Only)

 

In this section:

Setting Up &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups to Work Offline

Downloading Your Inbox for Offline Use

Downloading an Individual Folder for Offline Use

Downloading Selected or Flagged Messages for Offline Use

Downloading Directory Entries for Offline Use

Setting Up Your Accounts for Working Offline

Selecting Items for Offline Viewing

Downloading and Synchronizing Your Messages

Working Offline and Reconnecting Later

 

Setting Up &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups to Work Offline

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups' offline feature lets you download your mail and read it offline (while disconnected from the Internet). If you use a dial-up (modem) connection to access your mail and you want to reduce the time you are connected, or, if you need to temporarily disconnect from your company's network while traveling or switching locations, you can download your mail so that you can read it offline. The offline feature can automatically download incoming messages and then later send all your outgoing messages when you reconnect.

If you occasionally want to work offline, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups lets you easily:

If you frequently work offline, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups also lets you:

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Downloading Your Inbox for Offline Use

You can tell &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups to automatically download your Inbox messages for offline use. Later, when you go back online, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups automatically synchronizes your Inbox messages with the server.

To automatically download your Inbox for offline use, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. In the left side of the dialog box, under the name of the account you want to use offline, select Offline & Disk Space. (This category is not available for POP accounts.)
  3. Check the box labeled "Make the messages in my Inbox available when I am working offline."
  4. Click OK.
  5. In the folder pane, under the name of the account you want to use offline, click any folder other than the Inbox. For example, click the Sent or the Drafts folder. Then click the Inbox folder to start downloading its messages.
  6. Once downloading is complete, click the Online/Offline indicator in the lower right corner of the Mail window (to the left of the Cookie icon) to go offline.

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups automatically downloads all messages in your Inbox so you can read and respond to them while working offline. After disconnecting, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups remains open so you can continue to work with your messages.

To reconnect to the Internet so you can work online:

When you go back online, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups automatically synchronizes your Inbox messages with the server, by replicating any changes you made while working offline.

Tip: &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups saves any messages that you send while working offline in the Unsent Messages folder under Local Folders. To have &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups automatically send your unsent messages when you reconnect, use the Preferences command on the Edit menu to change the offline preferences for all your accounts.

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Downloading an Individual Folder for Offline Use

To download a specific folder for offline use, begin from the Mail window:

  1. In the left side of the Mail window, select the folder that you want to download for offline use.
  2. Open the Edit menu, and choose Folder Properties. You see the Properties dialog box.
  3. Click the Offline tab.
  4. Check "Select this folder for offline use".
  5. Click Download Now if you want to immediately begin downloading the folder's messages. Alternatively, you can continue working, and when you are ready to go offline, proceed to the next step.
  6. Click the Online/Offline indicator in the lower right corner of the Mail window to go offline.
  7. In the Work Offline dialog box, click Download.

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups automatically downloads all messages in the selected folder so you can read and respond to them while working offline. After disconnecting, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups remains open so you can continue to work with your messages.

Note: Message headers that have been downloaded for reading offline display a darker gray envelope or newsgroup icon.

To reconnect to the Internet so you can work online:

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups automatically synchronizes the offline folders with the server, by replicating any changes you made while working offline.

Tip: &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups saves any messages that you sent while working offline in the Unsent Messages folder under Local Folders. When you reconnect, choose Send Unsent Messages from the File menu to send all your saved messages at once. To have &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups automatically send your unsent messages when you reconnect, use the Preferences command on the Edit menu to change your offline preferences.

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Downloading Selected or Flagged Messages for Offline Use

To download selected messages for offline use, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select a Mail or Newsgroup folder to display its messages.
  2. Select the messages you want to download, as follows:
  3. Open the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Get Selected Messages from the submenu. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups downloads the selected messages.
  4. Once downloading is complete, click the Online/Offline indicator in the lower right corner of the Mail window (to the left of the Cookie icon) to go offline.

To download flagged messages for offline use, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Select a Mail or Newsgroup folder to display its messages.
  2. Click in the flag column of each message you want to download. A flag appears where you clicked to indicate that the message has been marked. If the flag column is not visible, click the Show/Hide Columns icon and select Flag from the list.
  3. Open the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Get Flagged Messages. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups downloads the flagged messages.
  4. Once downloading is complete, click the Online/Offline icon in the lower right corner of the Mail window (to the left of the Cookie icon) to go offline.

After you disconnect, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups remains open so you can continue to work with your messages.

Note: Message headers that have been downloaded for reading offline display a darker gray envelope or newsgroup icon.

To reconnect to the Internet so you can work online:

Tip: &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups saves any messages that you sent while working offline in the Unsent Messages folder under Local Folders. When you reconnect, choose Send Unsent Messages from the File menu to send all your saved messages at once. To have &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups automatically send your unsent messages when you reconnect, use the Preferences command on the Edit menu to change your offline preferences.

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Downloading Directory Entries for Offline Use

You can download (replicate) the entries in a directory server to your computer so that they are available when you work offline. Once you've downloaded directory entries, you can use the same procedure to update your local copy of the entries with the latest entries on the directory server.

To download or update an address book LDAP directory for offline use:

  1. Make sure you're online.
  2. Open the Window menu, and choose Address Book.
  3. In the Address Book window, select the directory that you want to download (replicate).
  4. Click Properties in the Address Book toolbar. The Directory Server Properties dialog box appears.
  5. Click the Offline tab.
  6. Click Download Now to start copying the entries to your computer.
  7. If prompted, enter your network user name and password, and click OK to start the download.
  8. Depending on the number of directory entries, the download process may take a while, so please be patient.

After the download finishes, you can work offline and search the directory or use it for address autocompletion when composing messages. After you've been using your local copy of the directory for a while, you may wish to update it to get the latest entries from the directory server. To update your local copy, use the procedure described above.

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Setting Up Your Accounts for Working Offline

To set up one or more accounts for working offline, you use the Offline and Disk Space preferences in the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box. Once set, you don't need to change these preferences each time you want to work offline.

Here's a summary of the steps you will follow to set up your accounts for offline use:

  1. For each account that you want to work with while offline, use the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box to set the Offline & Disk Space preferences for that account. You must select the items (folders and newsgroups) that you want to download for offline use. See Selecting Items for Offline Viewing for more information.

    Once set, you don't need to change these settings. See the sections below for information on setting offline and disk space preferences for IMAP accounts.

    Tip: To set the Offline & Disk Space preferences for the current account, open the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Offline Settings.

  2. Open the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Download/Sync Now from the submenu.
  3. Select the type of messages (mail or newsgroup or both) that you want to download.

    Important: You must select at least one category (mail messages or newsgroup messages) in order for the download to work.

  4. Select "Work offline once download and/or sync is complete."
  5. Click OK to download the selected items and then go offline. See Downloading and Synchronizing Your Messages for more information.

For subsequent offline sessions, you can skip step 1.

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Selecting Items for Offline Viewing

Before you can read mail and newsgroup messages while offline, you must first select them for downloading. You can set up an entire account for offline use. You can also choose which folders and newsgroups that you want to use offline.

Note: Keep in mind that selecting more items may increase download time and disk space used.

To select accounts, folders, and newsgroups for offline viewing, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu, choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Choose the Offline & Disk Space category for the account you want to change.
  3. Click Select. You see your IMAP accounts, mail folders, and subscribed newsgroups.

    Note: You see only the newsgroups and folders that you've already subscribed to. POP accounts and local mail folders don't appear in the list.Your AOL account is not included in the list because working offline with your AOL account is not available.

  4. Select the items (folders, newsgroups) that you want to make available for offline use.
  5. Click OK.

Once set, you don't need to change these settings each time you want to go offline. However, if you do want to change them, you can easily do so before going offline, since the same Select button is available when using the Download and Sync command.

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Downloading and Synchronizing Your Messages

If you have already selected mail folders and newsgroups for offline use, you are now ready to download and synchronize them. If you haven't yet selected items to download, you can choose them before you go offline.

If you are not already viewing the Download/Sync Now dialog box, follow these steps:

To download and synchronize your messages, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Download/Sync Now.
  2. Select the categories (mail messages or newsgroup messages) that you want to download.

    Important: You must select at least one category (Mail messages, Newsgroup messages) in order for the download to work. If the checkboxes are disabled, it means that you haven't yet selected items to download. Use the Select button to select items to download.

  3. To send messages in your Unsent Messages folder before going offline, check "Send Unsent Messages".
  4. To go offline immediately after &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups finishes downloading, select "Work offline once download and/or sync is complete".
  5. To set or change the items to download, click Select. See Selecting Items for Offline Viewing for more information. You can skip this step if you've already selected items for download.
  6. Click OK. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups begins downloading the selected items.

If you chose to work offline once the download completes, then &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups immediately switches to offline mode. Otherwise, when you are ready to go offline, click the Online/Offline indicator in the lower right corner of the Mail window to go offline.

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Working Offline and Reconnecting Later

To work offline and reconnect later, begin from the Mail window.

When you are ready to work offline:

  1. Click the online/offline indicator in the lower-right corner of the Mail window. Mail & Newsgroups prompts you to download messages, if you want, before going offline.
  2. Click Download to download messages before going offline. If you want to work offline without downloading messages, click Don't Download.

Note: Message headers that have been downloaded for reading offline display a darker gray envelope or newsgroup icon.

Tip: To set &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups' download behavior when going offline, open the Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then click the Offline & Disk Space category. You can choose to have &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups prompt you to download messages when going offline, to automatically download messages, or to not download any messages.

To reconnect and synchronize your messages:

  1. Click the online/offline indicator in the lower-right corner of any &brandShortName; window.
  2. Open the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Download/Sync Now.

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups synchronizes your messages with the server by replicating any changes you made while working offline.

Tip: To set &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups' behavior when going online, open the Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then choose the Offline & Disk Space category. You can choose to have &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups prompt you to send unsent messages, to automatically send unsent messages, or to not send unsent messages.

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings

This section describes the settings in the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box. Unlike the Preferences dialog box, which applies settings to all accounts, the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box lets you specify settings on a per-account basis.

If you are not currently viewing the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box, follow these steps:

  1. Begin from the Mail window.
  2. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings.
  3. Select the name of the account whose settings you want to view or change.

 

In this section:

Account Settings

Server Settings

Copies & Folders

Addressing

Offline & Disk Space

Return Receipts

Security

Local Folders

Outgoing Server (SMTP)

Free Webmail

 

Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Account Settings

This section describes how to view or change your Account Settings, such as your user name, reply-to address, and signature file. If you are not already viewing the Account Settings, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the name of the account to display the Account Settings panel.

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Server Settings

&brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups can work with two types of mail servers: IMAP and POP. If you are not sure which server type your Internet service provider supports, ask your service provider. If your Internet service provider supports both, the following descriptions may help you choose which one to use.

 

In this section:

About Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)

About Internet Post Office Protocol (POP)

IMAP Server Settings

Advanced IMAP Server Settings

POP Server Settings

News Server Settings

 

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About Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)

Advantages: Your messages and any changes to them stay on your server, saving local disk space. Also, you always have access to an updated mailbox, and you can get your mail from multiple locations. Performance on a modem is faster, since you initially download message headers only.

Disadvantages: Not all ISPs support IMAP.

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About Post Office Protocol (POP)

Advantages: Your messages are downloaded to your local computer all at once, but you can also specify whether to keep copies of the messages on the server and delete messages on the server when they are deleted locally. Most ISPs currently support POP.

Disadvantages: If you use more than one computer, messages might reside on one or the other, but not both. POP doesn't work as well as IMAP over a slow link connection. Also, you can't access all mail folders from multiple locations.

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IMAP Server Settings

If you are not already viewing the IMAP server settings, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the account name and click the Server Settings category. (If you chose an IMAP server when you set up this account, you see your IMAP server settings.)

 

Advanced IMAP Server Settings

In most cases, advanced IMAP server settings are automatically supplied by the server. If you are unsure about the settings for this dialog box, contact your ISP or system administrator.

If you are not already viewing the advanced IMAP server settings, begin from the Mail window.

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the account name and click the Server Settings category.
  3. If the mail server type is an IMAP server, you can click Advanced to set additional IMAP options, such as:

For more information, see Adding and Removing LDAP Directories.

Tip: To see how much storage space is allocated and in use for a folder stored on an IMAP server, select the folder and choose Folder Properties from the Edit menu, and then click the Quota tab.

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POP Server Settings

If you are not already viewing the POP server settings, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the account name and click the Server Settings category name. (If you chose a POP server when you set up this account, you see your POP server settings.)

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News Server Settings

This section describes how to change news server settings. If you are not already viewing news server settings, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the account name and click the Server Settings category. (If you chose a newsgroup server when you set up this account, you see your newsgroup server settings.)

Note: The path to the newsrc file is displayed for your information. The newsrc file stores information about the newsgroups to which you are subscribed, and the messages you have read in each newsgroup.

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Copies & Folders

This section describes the settings for sending automatic copies, and for storing copies of outgoing messages, message drafts, and message templates.

By default, &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups stores copies of your outgoing messages in the Sent folder for the current account. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups also stores message drafts in the Drafts folder and message templates in the Templates folder for the current account. (For AOL and Webmail accounts, the Sent folder is not available. The Drafts and Templates folders are stored under Local Folders.)

If you are not already viewing the settings for Copies & Folders, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the account, and click Copies & Folders. You see the Copies & Folders panel.

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Addressing

You use Addressing settings to override the global LDAP server settings specified for all address books in the Preferences dialog box. LDAP server settings affect the behavior of address autocompletion, and you can change these settings for each account if necessary.

Address autocompletion uses your address books to find matching entries when you type email addresses in the addressing area of the Compose window.

If you are not already viewing the Addressing settings, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the account and click the Addressing category.

The directory you select will also be searched for matching certificates when you attempt to send an encrypted message to one or more recipients for whom you don't have certificates on file.

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Offline & Disk Space

Offline & Disk Space settings let you conserve disk space or set up an account so that you can use it while offline (disconnected from the Internet). The settings available depend on the mail server type (IMAP, POP, or News) associated with the account.

 

In this section:

Offline and Disk Space Settings (IMAP)

Disk Space Settings (POP)

Offline and Disk Space Settings (News)

 

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Offline and Disk Space Settings (IMAP)

If you are not already viewing the offline and disk space preferences for an IMAP account, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Choose the Offline & Disk Space category for an IMAP account.

 

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Disk Space Settings (POP)

Messages from POP accounts are always downloaded to your local machine. This section describes how you can save disk space for a POP account. If you are not already viewing the Disk Space preferences for a POP account, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

  1. Open the Edit menu, choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Click the Disk Space category for a POP account.

 

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Offline and Disk Space Settings (News)

If you are not already viewing the offline and disk space settings for a News account, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu, and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Choose the Offline & Disk Space category for a News account.

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Return Receipts

This section describes how to use the Return Receipts account settings. If you are not currently viewing the Return Receipts settings, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu, and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Click the Return Receipts category for your mail account.

You use the Return Receipts settings to define return receipt settings for outgoing messages from this mail account. You also use the Return Receipt settings to specify how to manage requests you receive for return receipts. These settings override global return receipt preferences you specified using Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Return Receipts.

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Security

This section describes how to configure the Mail & Newsgroup Account Settings that control mail message security. Before you do so, however, you must obtain one or more mail certificates. For details, see Signing & Encrypting Messages.

If you are not already viewing the Security settings for your mail account, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings.
  2. Click Security under the name of the mail account whose security settings you want to configure.

 

In this section:

About Certificates

Digital Signing

Encryption

 

About Certificates

The main purpose of the Security panel in Mail & Newsgroup Account Settings is to select two certificates:

Depending on the policies of the certificate authority (CA) that issues your certificate(s), you can use one certificate for both purposes or two different certificates. If you specify a certificate to use for digital signing, you can choose to use the same certificate for encryption unless you want to specify a different one for encryption.

The certificates you select here are included with every signed message you send. These certificates allow your recipients to verify your digital signature and to encrypt messages that they send to you.

 

Digital Signing

You use the Digital Signing area in the Security panel to specify how you want to sign your email messages:

Regardless of whether the "Digitally sign messages" checkbox is selected here, you can change your mind before you send an individual message.

To change the digital signature setting for a message you are writing in the Compose window, click the arrow below the Security icon near the top of the window and select or deselect "Digital Sign This Message". For details, see Signing & Encrypting a New Message.

 

Encryption

You use the Encryption area in the Security panel to specify how you routinely want to use encryption when sending your messages:

Regardless of which encryption option you select, you can change your mind before you send an individual message.

To change the encryption setting for a message you are writing in the Compose window, click the arrow below the Security icon near the top of the window and choose the encryption setting you want. For details, see Signing & Encrypting a New Message.

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Local Folders

Local Folders is the account where &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups saves any messages that you send while working offline. Messages you send while working offline are saved in the Unsent Messages folder under Local Folders. Any folders you create under the Local Folders account reside on your hard disk, so Local Folders is a good place to save messages that you want to keep.

If you are not already viewing the Local Folders settings, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the Local Folders category.

 

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Outgoing Server (SMTP)

Even if you have multiple mail or news accounts, you generally need to specify only one outgoing (SMTP) server to handle the delivery of your outgoing mail.

If you are not already viewing the Outgoing Server (SMTP) settings, begin from the Mail window:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings. You see the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box.
  2. Select the Outgoing Server (SMTP) category.

 

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Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Free Webmail

Netscape Webmail is a free web-based mail account from Netscape.net that lets you send and receive mail from anywhere that you have Internet access. Choose Sign Up to get your free Netscape Webmail account. Choose Set Up Your Account if you have an existing Netscape.net Webmail account, so that you can set up &brandShortName; to use it.

 

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Mail & Newsgroup Preferences

The sections listed below describe the Mail & Newsgroups preferences that apply to all your mail and newsgroup accounts. To see these preferences:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.

    (Mac OS X) Open the browser menu and choose Preferences.

  2. Double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.

 

In this section:

Mail & Newsgroups

Windows

Message Display

Notifications

Composition

Send Format

Addressing

Labels

Return Receipts

Offline & Disk Space Preferences

 

Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Mail & Newsgroups

This section describes the main Mail & Newsgroups preferences. If you are not already viewing the Mail & Newsgroups main preferences, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences. You see the Preferences dialog box.
  2. Click the Mail & Newsgroups category.

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Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Windows

This section describes the preferences for window layout and message windows. If you are not already viewing the Windows preferences, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences. You see the Preferences dialog box.
  2. Click the Windows category.

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Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Message Display

Message Display preferences allow you to choose how messages are displayed (for example, font style and color) in all accounts. If you are not already viewing the Message Display settings, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences. You see the Preferences dialog box.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Message Display. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)

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Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Notifications

This section describes the preferences for notifications when new messages arrive. If you are not already viewing the Notification preferences, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences. You see the Preferences dialog box.
  2. Click the Notifications category.

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Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Composition

Composition preferences affect how you create messages in all accounts. If you are not already viewing the Composition settings, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Composition. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)

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Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Send Format

Send Format preferences allow you to specify how you want to format your outgoing messages. If you are not already viewing the Send Format settings, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences. You see the Preferences dialog box.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, click Send Format. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)

For example, if you typically send mail to multiple recipients that have the same domain name (for example, your colleagues all have email addresses that end in "netscape.net"), and you know that this domain name is capable of displaying HTML messages, then you can add the netscape.net domain to the list of HTML Domains so that Mail & Newsgroups will automatically send messages in HTML format to these recipients.

Similarly, if you typically send mail to recipients at a domain that you know can only receive Plain Text messages, you can add that domain name to the list of Plain Text domains, so that Mail & Newsgroups automatically sends messages to that domain in plain-text format.

Note: If you regularly compose HTML (formatted) mail messages, keep in mind that sometimes not all recipients use mail programs that can display HTML formatting properly. Send Format preferences allow you to specify how you want to format messages that go to recipients who cannot display HTML-formatted mail. You can convert messages to plain text, format them only as HTML, or format them as both HTML and plain text. These preferences apply to all your mail accounts, but only to mail messages and not to newsgroup messages.

Whenever you add a person or address card to your address book, you can specify whether that addressee can receive HTML-formatted messages. However, when this information is unknown, you can set Send Format preferences for how Mail & Newsgroups formats these messages.

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Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Addressing

Addressing preferences allow you to control the settings for &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups address books (for example, email address collection and address autocompletion). If you are not already viewing the Addressing settings, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu, and choose Preferences. You see the Preferences dialog box.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, select Addressing. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)

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Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Labels

This section describes how to use the Labels preferences panel. You use the Labels preferences to define the label text and colors for message labels. If you are not currently viewing the panel, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, select Labels. (If no options are visible, double-click the Mail & Newsgroups category to expand the list.)

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Mail & Newsgroups Preferences - Return Receipts

This section describes how to use the Return Receipts preferences panel. If you are not currently viewing the Return Receipts panel, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Mail & Newsgroups category, select Return Receipts. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Mail & Newsgroups to expand the list.)

You use the Return Receipts preferences to define return receipt settings for outgoing messages from all your mail accounts. You also use the Return Receipt preferences to specify how to manage requests you receive for return receipts.

To override these global preferences for individual accounts, see Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Return Receipts.

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Offline & Disk Space Preferences

This section describes how to use the Offline & Disk Space preferences panel. If you are not currently viewing the panel, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
  2. Click Offline & Disk Space.

The Offline & Disk Space preferences allow you to set preferences for working offline, going online, and disk space.

See Working Offline for information on working offline.

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13 May 2003


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