Internet Mail and News Help

Read Mail

Before step one: You are using a Web browser, such as Internet Explorer, to view Help. For all procedures, switch back to Internet Mail and News by clicking one of its windows or choosing it on the Finder menu before you do step one.

Setting up a connection to your mail server

Downloading your messages

Reading a mail message

Searching for a mail message

Sorting the mail message list

Automating tasks for mail messages using filters

Changing, disabling, or deleting a mail filter

Showing unread messages only

Printing a mail message

Editing a received message

Saving a message as text

Deleting a message

Marking a message as read or unread

To set up a connection to your mail server

On the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
Under Mail & News, click E-mail.
In the Real Name box, type you first and last name.
In the E-mail address box, type your e-mail address.
In the Organization box, type your company or group name.
In the SMTP Host box, type the name of your outgoing mail server.
In the Account ID box, type the name of your mail account.
In the POP Host box, type the name of your incoming mail server.
In the Password box, type the password you use to access your mail account.
In the Mail Accounts list, select the account you want to use.

Note

This information is supplied by your Internet service provider (ISP).

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To download your messages

On the Mail menu, choose Receive Mail.
You will see a the Progress window showing the progress of incoming messages. You can close this window without interrupting the download. To open it again, choose Progress from the Windows menu.
While mail is downloading, you can continue to perform other tasks, such as writing a mail message.

Notes

When you download messages, Internet Mail and News copies the messages that are on your mail server to your hard disk. You can delete the messages from the server by changing your advanced e-mail settings.
Once you've downloaded your mail, you can close your connection to your Internet service provider (ISP) and reopen it when you are ready to send mail or you want to check for new mail.

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To read a mail message

If the Mail window is not open, choose Mail from the Windows menu.
Click the Inbox, or another folder where you receive messages, to see new messages. The number of unread messages you have are displayed in bold to the right of the folder.
- To view the message in the preview pane, single-click the message in the message list. The text of the message appears in the preview pane below the message list.
- To view the message in a separate window, double-click the message.

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To search for a mail message

If the Mail window is not open, choose Mail from the Windows menu.
Click the folder you want to search in so that its messages display in the message list.
Click the Display Subjects Containing box above the message list, and choose which column you want to search on.
In the text box to the right of the menu, type the word(s) contained in the message you are looking for. As you type, only the messages that match what you type will be visible.
To show the entire list of messages again, delete the text you typed.

Note

If you would like to search for a message across many folders, choose Find from the Edit menu.

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To sort the mail message list

If the Mail window is not open, choose Mail from the Windows menu.
Click the column heading you want to sort by.
To switch between ascending and descending sort order, click the triangle that appears in the column heading.

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To automate tasks for mail messages using filters

On the Edit menu, choose Filters.
Click Mail, located in the upper-left of the dialog box.
Click New, located in the lower-left of the dialog box.
In the Mail Filter Name box, type a new name for the filter.
Make sure that the Enabled check box is selected so that the filter will work for incoming messages once you have finished creating it. You can also apply the filter to existing messages by selecting the message(s) and choosing Filter Message With from the Message menu. You can turn the filter off later by clearing the Enabled check box.
Filters work in the order that they appear in the filter list. To change where your new filter appears in the list, select it, and click the up and down arrows below the filter list.
On the Field menu, choose the field you want to filter on.
On the Contains menu, choose the rule you want the filter to follow.
In the text box, type the text that applies to the rule.
If you want to create a second rule, choose And or Or from the Ignore menu, and follow steps 7 to 9.

In the Actions area, select what action you would like to happen when a mail message matches the criteria you set.

Alert With Opens a Mail Filter Notification dialog box when incoming messages fit the criteria you set. Click Action, and type the text you want in the Notification dialog box.

Auto Reply Sends a reply to the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set. Click Template, and type the text you want in the reply message.

Set Color Changes the color of the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set. To choose a color, click the color box.

Mark As Read Marks the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set as read.

File Message Moves the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set to a selected folder. To select a folder, choose one from the menu.

Auto Forward Forwards the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set. Type the e-mail address(es) you want the message forwarded to in the text box. Separate multiple addresses with a comma.

Auto Redirect Redirects the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set. Type the e-mail address(es) you want the message redirected to in the text box. Separate multiple addresses with a comma.

Example

If you wanted to file all messages from Bob in a particular folder and automatically send him a reply, you would first need to create a mail filter by clicking New and giving it a name. Then, in the Criteria area, you would choose From on the Field menu, Contains on the Contains menu, and then type Bob's e-mail address in the text box: "Bob@company.com." Then, in the Actions area, you would select the Auto Reply check box, click Template, and type the text you want sent to Bob every time he sends you a message. Finally, you would select the File Message check box and choose the folder where you want Bob's messages stored.

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To change, disable, or delete a mail filter

On the Edit menu, choose Filters.
Click Mail, located in the upper-left of the dialog box.
In the filter list, click the filter you want to change, disable, or delete.
- To change the filter information, make changes as needed and click OK.
- To disable the filter so that it will not work, clear the Enabled check box.
- To delete the filter, click Delete.

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To show unread messages only

If the Mail window is not open, choose Mail from the Windows menu.
On the Message menu, choose Show Unread Only.
Now you will see only your unread messages, and the command on the Message menu will change to Show All Messages.
To show all your messages again, choose Show All Messages from the Message menu.

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To print a mail message

If the Mail window is not open, choose Mail from the Windows menu.
In the message list, click the message you want to print. If you want to print more than one, hold down the Shift key as you select messages.
On the File menu, choose Print.
Change settings as needed.
Click Print.

Related Topics
Changing the fonts
Reading a mail message

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To edit a received message

If the Mail window is not open, choose Mail from the Windows menu.
In the message list, double-click the message you want to edit.
Click the pencil icon in the lower-left corner of the message window so that it does not have a slash through it.
Edit the message.
When you are finished editing, choose Save from the File menu.

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To save a message as text

If the Mail window is not open, choose Mail from the Windows menu.
In the message list, double-click the message you want to save as text.
On the File menu, choose Save As Text.
Choose a location and type a name for the file.

Note

To save a message that you have edited or written as a message, instead of as text, choose Save from the File menu.

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To delete a message

If the Mail window is not open, choose Mail from the Windows menu.
In the message list, click the message title you want to delete.
On the Edit menu, choose Delete Message, or drag the message to the Deleted Messages folder.

Notes

To undo deleting a message, open the Deleted Mail folder, and drag the message to the Inbox or another folder.
Deleting a message that is in the Deleted Mail folder will permanently remove it.

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To mark a message as read or unread

If the Mail window is not open, choose Mail from the Windows menu.
In the message list, click the message you want to change.
To mark the message as read, choose Mark As Read from the Message menu.
If you want to mark the message as unread, choose Mark As Unread from the Message menu.

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Setting up a connection to your mail server
Downloading your messages
Reading a mail message
Searching for a mail message
Sorting the mail message list
Automating tasks for mail messages using filters
Changing, disabling, or deleting a mail filter
Showing unread messages only
Printing a mail message
Editing a received message
Saving a message as text
Deleting a message
Marking a message as read or unread

Alert With	Opens a Mail Filter Notification dialog box when incoming messages fit the criteria you set. Click Action, and type the text you want in the Notification dialog box.
Auto Reply	Sends a reply to the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set. Click Template, and type the text you want in the reply message.
Set Color	Changes the color of the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set. To choose a color, click the color box.
Mark As Read	Marks the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set as read.
File Message	Moves the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set to a selected folder. To select a folder, choose one from the menu.
Auto Forward	Forwards the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set. Type the e-mail address(es) you want the message forwarded to in the text box. Separate multiple addresses with a comma.
Auto Redirect	Redirects the incoming messages that fit the criteria you set. Type the e-mail address(es) you want the message redirected to in the text box. Separate multiple addresses with a comma.