E-mail for Beginners: Part 3

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Tutorial Overview

Topics covered in this tutorial (click link to jump to topic):

1.	Organising your Mail
2.	Automatic Filing
3.	Finding Text or a Message
4.	The Signature File

Organising your Mail

Before long your "Inbox" folder will become congested with mail. Of course you can delete what you don't want. Deleting a message sends it to the "Trash" or "deleted Items" folder which is like the "Recycle" icon on the Windows95 desktop. In other words, you can undelete files sent to "Deleted Items". Clear the trash regularly and also consider "compacting" your mailboxes in Outlook Express (see the File menu) to save space. Over time though, there will be a growing list of items to file.

To organise your mail you can use "mailboxes" (in Eudora) or folders (in Outlook Express) just as you use folders on your hard drive to organise files and programs or bookmarks in Internet Explorer.

Select the "Mailbox", go "New" to create a new mailbox. Check the "Make it a folder" option if you wish to create a folder. Now move a piece of mail to your new folder. Now delete the e-mail message you used. Go to the Trash folder, and undelete the message.

To file mail in Eudora to your new mailbox, select a message/s and drag and drop the message in the new mail box. You can also use the Transfer menu option. In fact, with "Transfer" you can even create new folders and mailboxes on the fly. To reorganise your mailboxes use the "Tools", then "Mailboxes" menu option.

To file mail in Outlook Express, highlight the Inbox with one mouse click, then do a right mouse click on the Inbox and ask for a "New Folder...". You will be asked to give the folder a name. Click "OK" once you have typed a name (capitals and spaces are OK). Your new folder will appear underneath the Inbox. Double click your new folder to open it. Return to Inbox by clicking on it once, highlight the message/s you wish to move on the right, then drag and drop them into your new folder. Easy as that!

Sort your e-mail by clicking once on the column title bars. You will find it useful to be able to sort by sender name as this is usually the basis of filing.

Automatic Filing

Outlook Express allows you to set up "Message Rules" to automatically file your in-bound email. This is a very useful time-saving feature. Before you start, right mouse click your inbox and set up any new folders you want to file incoming mail to. Then go to the "Tools" menu. Choose "Message Rules..." then select "Mail". Follow the wizard. It will help you say which mail to file in which folders.

Open Outlook Express and click on "Tools"
Select "Message Rules" then "Mail" (see illustration right)
In the conditions box select "Where the From line contains people"
Select "Move it to the specified folder" in the action field
In the Rule Description field select the word "Contains People"
Type the email address that you want to auto file and click "Add"
Click "OK" on select people and click "OK" on New Mail Rule
Do the same for the action, that is, click the link called "specified folder" and choose one of your new folders.
Give the rule a name so you can easily identify it, and you are done.

How to access your message rules editor.

Ruler editor. Tick the boxes to complete the wizard.

Sample completed message rule

Thunderbird

See an excellent resource on Thunderbird's message rules (called "filters") at www.freemailtutorials.com

Eudora Lite 5

To set up filters on Eudora Lite, please refer to http://www.eudora.com/techsupport/tutorials/win_filters.html, where you will find detailed instructions and screen shots showing how to set up filters for Eudora.

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Finding Text or a Message

Over time your e-mail folders will become packed with messages. To find a message in Outlook Express, go "Edit", go "Find", select "message". You can search on a word, phrase or subject and usually you can specify which mailboxes to search in.

The Signature File

Serious or irrelevant, most e-mail programs can automatically add your "signature" to the end of the e-mail message. A "signature" is text automatically added to the end of your outgoing mail. It usually contains your full name, position in the company, P O Box number and phone number.

Often, ASCII art and a witty comment or quote is also included. Try to keep your signature to 4 lines to avoid irritating your recipients. To create a signature in Eudora, go to the "Tools" menu, select the "Signature" option. In Outlook Express, go to the "Tools" menu, choose "Options...", then click the Signature tab.

One thing to remember - your signature file will be seen by everyone who receives e-mail from you - so be careful about what personal details you include.

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