Using Messenger

This chapter describes how to use Netscape Messenger to send, receive, and work with electronic mail (email) messages. See Chapter 5, "Using Newsgroups," for information about working with newsgroups.

Getting started

Before you can use Messenger to send and receive email for the first time, Communicator asks you for some information so it can set up your mail and newsgroup preferences.

To start receiving and sending email messages:

From the Communicator menu, choose Messenger.

If this is the first time you are starting Messenger, follow the instructions in the Mail and Newsgroups Wizard to set up mail and newsgroup preferences.

If you don't know the settings for your preferences, ask your system administrator or Internet Service Provider.

To receive new mail, click Get Msg on the Messenger window toolbar.

Tip

To start Messenger and automatically get new messages, click the Inbox button in the component bar.

Note:

If you need to change your mail and newsgroup preferences later, choose Preferences from Messenger's Edit menu.

Choosing between IMAP and POP3 mail servers

Netscape Messenger can work with two types of mail servers: IMAP and POP3. If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) supports both, these descriptions may help you choose which one to use:

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, and you can synchronize specific mail folders for offline use.

Disadvantages: Not all ISPs support IMAP.

Post Office Protocol (POP3)

Advantages: Your messages are downloaded to your local computer all at once, thereby making offline reading easier. You can specify whether to keep copies of the messages on the server. Most ISPs currently support POP3.

Disadvantages: You must synchronize your local inbox with your server's mailbox. This can result in downloading messages over and over each time you connect. If you use more than one computer, messages might reside on one or the other, but not both. POP3 doesn't work as well as IMAP over a slow link connection. Also, you can't access all mail folders from multiple locations.

You can have multiple IMAP servers or one POP3 server, but not both types. You can check or change the server type through the Mail Server Property panel (Mail Server Info on Mac OS).

To specify your mail server as either IMAP or POP3:

From the Edit menu, choose Preferences. Open the Mail & Newsgroup category, and then select Mail Servers.

To add a new server, click Add to display the Mail Server Properties dialog box (Mail Server Info on Mac OS) and then type its name at Server Name.

Or, to change the settings for an existing server, select the server name and then click Edit to display the Mail Server Properties dialog box.

At Server Type, click the drop-down list and select either IMAP or POP3.

Depending on which server type you choose, you will see tabs for dialog boxes where you can specify more options, including how often Messenger checks for mail and how messages are deleted.

About the message list window

You work with messages in a message list window. You can retrieve new messages, read messages, reply to or forward a message, and perform other operations in the message list window.

Retrieving new messages

Communicator puts new messages in your Inbox, unless you have created a filter to automatically file new messages in other folders. See "Filtering incoming messages" later in this chapter for more information.

Click Get Msg in Messenger's toolbar.

Tip

If you've enabled mail notification in Messenger's preferences, the Inbox button in Communicator's lower-right corner displays a green arrow if you have new messages waiting to be retrieved.

To enable mail notification:

1. Choose Preferences from the Edit menu, and then open the Mail & Newsgroups category.


2. Click Mail Servers and then select the server name.


3. Click the Edit button to display the Mail Server Properties dialog box (Mail Server Info on Mac OS).


4. On the General tab, choose "Check for mail" and then enter the interval (in minutes).


5. Click OK.

Tip

If you use a modem to connect to your Internet Service Provider, you can reduce your connect-time charges by disconnecting from your service provider after you retrieve your new messages. See "Going offline to work" later in this chapter for more information.

Identifying new and unread messages

In the message list window, Messenger uses icons to distinguish between unread and new messages. An unread message is one that you haven't opened. A new message is an unread message received since you last retrieved messages.

Reading a message

To read the contents of a message, click a message header in the message list.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Alternatively, to open the message in a separate window, double-click the message header.

To read the next unread message, click Next in the toolbar.

Tip

Pressing the spacebar scrolls the current message, one screenful at a time. If you are at the end of the current message, pressing the spacebar takes you to the next unread message.

Viewing an attachment

An attachment is any file that's included with a message. Attachments appear at the bottom of the message.

Tip

Click the paper clip icon to the right of the message's header to show or hide the list of attachments at the bottom of the message.

To view image and web page attachments inline (displayed in the body of the message):

While displaying a message with links, open the View menu and choose View Attachments Inline. (This menu item toggles with View Attachments As Links.)

To view image and web page attachments as links:

While displaying a message with attachments inline, open the View menu and choose View Attachments As Links.

Note

If you use IMAP mail servers, and you select View Attachments as Links, all attachments remain on the server until you download or open the attachment (click the link).

You can include your own attachments when you send a message. See "Attaching a file to a message" later in this chapter for more information.

Why can't Messenger display or print the attachment?

Image and web page attachments open in a Navigator window. When you open a file attachment, Messenger asks you to choose whether to open the attachment in its native application (such as a word-processing program) or save the attachment to your computer. If the attachment is a file type that Messenger does not recognize, the attachment still appears as a link even if you choose to view attachments inline.

Click the attachment's link to choose another application that can display the attachment. Alternatively, you can save the attachment on your hard disk to view it or print it later using another application.

You can use plug-ins to extend Messenger's capabilities so that you can display or print attachments. See "What are plug-ins?" in Chapter 3, "Using Navigator," for more information.

Saving a message attachment

You can save an attachment on your hard disk if you want to work with it as a separate file or view it later using another application. For example, if someone sends you an attachment that's a report created in a word processing program, you can save the report and then open it in your word processing program so that you can view or edit it.

Open the message containing the attachment you want to save.

Click the paper clip icon to the right of the message header to display the attachment's icon at the bottom of the message.

To display the attachment, double-click the attachment's icon.

From the File menu, choose Save As.

Type a name for the file.

Click Save.

Tip

You can quickly save an attachment by right-clicking the attachment icon (on Mac OS, press and hold the mouse button). From the pop-up menu, choose Save Attachment As, and then specify a filename and location for the attachment.

About the message composition window

When you create a new message, or when you reply to or forward an existing message, Messenger displays a message composition window so you can type the text of your message

.

Tip

You can choose to compose messages using either the rich-text HTML editor (shown in the illustration above) or the plain-text editor. To specify the one you want, choose Preferences from the Edit menu. Open the Mail & Newsgroups category and then choose Formatting.

Replying to a message

Read the message you want to reply to.

Click Reply.

If your mail and newsgroups preferences are set so that Messenger quotes the original message when replying, the text of the original message appears below the insertion point in the message composition window. To change this setting, choose Preferences from the Edit menu, open the Mail & Newsgroups category, and then click Messages. Your change affects future replies.

Choose Reply to Sender if you want to reply only to the person who sent you the message. Choose Reply to All if you want to reply to the person who sent you the message and also send a carbon copy (cc:) of your reply to everyone else that received the original message.

In the composition window, check the address area to make sure that the message is addressed the way you want.

Messenger automatically addresses your reply to the recipients listed in the Reply-To header of the original message.

Type your reply in the message composition area.

Click Send.

Tip

You can customize the way you reply to messages by specifying whether you want your reply to appear above or below the original text. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then select Messages from the Mail & Newsgroups category.

Forwarding a message

Select the message you want to forward.

Click Forward.

Type the address of the person or mailing list you want to send the message to, or click Address in the toolbar.

Click in the message area and type any remarks you want to include with the forwarded message.

Click Send.

Tip

When you forward a message, you can specify how to place new text relative to the original text: inline, as an attachment, or quoted. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then select Messages from the Mail & Newsgroups category.

Searching for a message

You can search for a specific message in your Inbox, in all mail folders, or in newsgroups.

From the Edit menu, choose Search Messages.

Choose the folder or newsgroup you want to search.

Choose Local Mail to search all your local mail folders, or if you're an IMAP user, select a server. Choose a newsgroup server to search your subscribed list of newsgroups.

Choose the part of the message that you want to search (such as the subject, body, or date).

Choose the search condition, for example, contains or doesn't contain, that you want to use.

Type a word or phrase that you want to search for.

To enter additional information to help narrow the search, click More.

Enter the additional information.

Click Search to begin searching.

If Messenger finds any matching messages, it displays the message headers at the bottom of the Search dialog box. Double-click a message header to display the message.

Deleting a message

Select the header of the message you want to delete.

To select additional messages, hold down the Shift key and click additional messages. Hold down the Control key (Windows and Unix) or the Command key (Mac OS) to select non-adjacent messages.

Click Delete in Messenger's toolbar.

(POP3 servers) Messenger moves deleted messages to the Trash folder.

(IMAP servers) Messenger either moves deleted messages to the Trash folder or marks them for deletion. See "About deleted messages" for more information.

(IMAP servers only) If a message is marked for deletion, you can unmark it by selecting the message and clicking Delete in Messenger's toolbar.

About deleted messages

What happens to deleted messages depends on whether you're connected to a POP3 or IMAP server.

If you're connected to a POP3 server, Messenger moves deleted messages to the Trash folder, where they remain until you empty the Trash. See "Emptying the Trash" later in this chapter for more information.

If you're connected to an IMAP server, Messenger either marks the messages for deletion or moves them to the Trash folder. You can customize how you want deleted messages handled by setting additional preferences for them.

Choose Preferences from the Edit menu, open the Mail & Newsgroups category and then choose Mail Servers.

Select the IMAP server you want, and then click Edit to display the Mail Server Properties dialog box (Mail Server Info on Mac OS).

Click the IMAP tab and choose the deletion method you want.

Click OK to close the dialog box and confirm your changes.

Bookmarking a message

You can create a bookmark for an email or newsgroup message. These bookmarks appear in the Bookmarks menu just like web page bookmarks and make it easy to go to a message.

Read the message you want to create a bookmark for.

(Windows) From the Communicator menu, choose Bookmarks, and then choose Add Bookmark.

(Mac OS) From the Bookmarks menu, choose Add Bookmark.

Messenger adds the bookmark to the bottom of the Bookmarks menu.

Arranging your message list columns

You can easily rearrange the order of columns in a message list window.

Drag a column header and drop it in the desired location.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Hiding columns

You can increase and decrease the number of columns visible in a message list window. For example, if you only want to see the Sender, Subject, and Date columns, arrange the order of columns to begin with those three, and then hide all the additional columns until you can see only your chosen columns.

Click one of the two arrows on the right side of the message list window.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Tip

(Windows and Unix only) If the columns are so close together that you can't read all the text in the message header, move your mouse over the header text and hold it there. A box will pop up with the complete text.

Resizing columns

You can resize a column to see more or less of the text contained in the column and to make more room for the other columns.

Position the mouse pointer over the right border of a column so that the pointer changes to a double arrow.

Drag the border left or right to resize the column.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Resizing the message area

Drag the bar above the message area to resize it.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Sorting your messages

Click one of the columns above the message headers to reorder your messages by that column.

Click the column again if you want to reverse the sort order.

Viewing your messages by subject

You can switch to a subject threaded view of your messages so that each message and all its related follow-up responses are listed together.

To switch to a subject threaded view, click the small horizontal bars at the top left corner of the message list window.

To reorder your messages using another column heading, click another column title.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Printing a message

Select the message that you want to print.

Choose Print from the File menu, or click Print in Messenger's toolbar.

Choose the print options you want.

(Windows) Click OK.

(Mac OS and Unix) Click Print.

Note:

If the message includes an attachment, Messenger prints the contents of the attachment below the message body. If the attachment is a file format that Messenger does not recognize, it does not print the attachment. See "Why can't Messenger display or print the attachment?" earlier in this chapter for more information.

Emptying the Trash

The Trash folder contains messages you've deleted. Messenger keeps deleted messages in the Trash folder in case you change your mind and want to retrieve them. Messages remain in the Trash folder until you empty the Trash.

You must periodically empty the Trash folder to keep it from growing too large and taking up too much space.

Warning:

You cannot recover messages from the Trash once you empty the Trash.

• In the Message Center or a message list window, choose Empty Trash Folder from the File menu to permanently delete all messages contained in the Trash.

Retrieving a message from the Trash folder

You can retrieve a message from the Trash folder by moving the message into another folder before you empty the Trash folder. See "Moving messages to another folder" later in this chapter for more information.


Filtering incoming messages

You can set up a mail filter that tells Messenger what to do with incoming messages. For example, you could store all incoming messages that have the word "gardening" in the message's subject in your "Gardening" folder. Or, you assign all messages coming from your boss the highest priority. For each action you want performed, you must set up a separate filter. For example, to perform the actions described above, you would create separate filters called "Move to Gardening" and "Boss."


Creating a message filter

• From the Edit menu, choose Message Filters.


• Click New.


• Type a name for the filter.


• Choose the conditions that you want to check for in new messages.


• (Mac OS only) If necessary, click Filter Action to expand the dialog box.


• Choose the action that you want the filter to perform on new messages.


• (Windows and Unix) Click OK to close the Filter Rules dialog box.
(Mac OS) Click the close box to close the Message Filters dialog box.
• (Windows and Unix) Click OK to close the Message Filters dialog box.

Messenger applies the filter to all subsequent incoming messages.


Deactivating a filter

You can deactivate a filter if you want to temporarily prevent it from applying to incoming messages.

• From the Edit menu, choose Message Filters.


• Click the checkmark to the right of the filter name to deactivate it.


• (Windows and Unix) Click OK.
(Mac OS) Click the close box.

Composing messages

You can create messages using either the rich-text HTML editor or the plain-text editor. Messenger can send a plain text version along with all HTML messages, ensuring that the recipient will be able to read the message whether or not they are using an email program that knows how to display HTML-formatted text.


Creating a message

• Click New Msg in Messenger's toolbar.

Tip

(Unix only) If you've set your message preferences to create HTML-formatted mail, pressing the Shift key and clicking New Msg lets you create a plain-text mail message. Similarly, if you've set your message preferences to create plain-text mail, pressing the Shift key and clicking New Msg lets you create an HTML-formatted mail message.

1. Type the address of the first recipient and press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS and Unix).
See "Addressing a message" later in this chapter for more information.
2. Type the address of the next recipient and press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS and Unix).


3. For each recipient, choose an addressing option:

 

 
 
 
 
 



1. To: for primary recipients


2. Cc: carbon copy, for secondary recipients


3. Bcc: blind carbon copy, for secondary recipients that you don't want to identify to the other recipients, including those in the Bcc: list


4. Newsgroup: for a newsgroup


5. Reply-To (Windows) or Reply (Mac OS): for specifying the email address you want to use to receive replies


6. Followup-To (Windows) or Followup (Mac OS): for specifying the email address you want to use to receive replies to a newsgroup message
4. Press Tab.


5. Type the subject of the message.


6. Press Tab.


7. Type the text of the message.
See Chapter 6, "Using Composer," for information on the text formatting and other options you can use in the message composition window.

Addressing a message

You enter addresses by typing them in the address area of the message composition window or by choosing them from your Address book.


An address can be:

1. an email address (for example, robin@webmonkey.com)


2. a nickname from your Address book (for example, robin)


3. a mailing list name (all@webmonkey.com)


4. the name of a newsgroup (mcom.hr.benefits)

If you don't know a recipient's address, you can search for it in your address books or a directory service. See "Finding someone's email address" later in this chapter for more information. See "Keeping a personal address book" later in this chapter for information on creating and maintaining a personal list of email addresses.


See  "Selecting recipients for a new message" later in this chapter for information on using your Address Book to select recipients.


What's an email address?

A simple email address is username@servername.com where:

1. username is the name you were given by your Internet Service Provider or system administrator.


2. servername represents the domain name, or the name of the server computer at your service provider, company, or organization. The server name might require several subparts to identify it, each separated by a period, for example, username@aserver.bserver.com.


3. .com is a suffix that identifies the kind of organization that operates the server.

Here are some common suffixes for domain names and their organizational affiliations:

1. .arts, for artistic and cultural institutions


2. .com and .firm, for commercial businesses (companies)


3. .edu, for educational institutions (universities, schools)


4. .gov, for government (nonmilitary)


5. .info, for information services


6. .mil, for US military


7. .net, for network organizations


8. .nom, for individuals


9. .org, for noncommercial organizations


10. .rec, for recreation and entertainment


11. .store, for online shopping services


12. .web, for web-related activities

Email addresses from outside the United States often include an additional two-letter suffix to designate a country, for example, robin@webmonkey.com.uk. Some examples of country suffixes are:

1. .au, for Australia


2. .ca, for Canada


3. .cn, for China


4. .jp, for Japan


5. .nl, for The Netherlands


6. .uk and .gb, for The United Kingdom (Great Britain)

Finding someone's email address

You can easily search for addresses contained in your address books. If you don't know someone's email address, you can also use a directory service such as Four11 or Bigfoot.
If a recipient's name is already in your address book and you have Pinpoint Addressing enabled, you can simply type the first few letters of the recipient's name and let Messenger complete the address automatically. See "About Pinpoint Addressing" later in this chapter for more information.




To search for names and addresses in a personal address book:

1. Click the Address Book button on the component bar.


2. In the Address Book window, select one of the address books listed in the Directory column.


3. Start typing the name of the person you're looking for.
If there's a match, the person's name is selected in the right column.
4. Double-click the name to display the card for the person, or click New Msg to compose a message to the person.

To search for names and addresses using a directory service:

1. Click the Address Book button on the component bar.


2. In the Address Book window, select one of the directory servers listed in the Directory column.


3. Click Search for.


4. For a basic search, fill in one or more fields in the Basic Search dialog box and then click Search. Click Advanced Search to narrow the search using additional criteria.

If you don't find what you're looking for, try searching again using different search options or another directory service.

Attaching a file to a message

1. Click New Msg in Messenger's toolbar.


2. Hold down the Attach button, and choose File.


3. Choose the file you want to include in the message.


4. (Windows) Click Open.
(Mac OS and Unix) Click Attach.

Tip

To attach the web page you're viewing in Navigator, drag the page's page proxy icon from Navigator into the attachments list in the message composition window.

Tip

To attach a file on your desktop or in a folder, drag it into the attachments list in the message composition window.

Seeing the list of attached files

Click the Attachments tab in the message composition window.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Changing the message priority

Before you send a message, you can change the message's priority so that recipients know whether or not the message is urgent. If you don't change the message priority, Messenger assigns it "normal" priority.

In the message composition window, click the Priority drop-down list and choose a level: Lowest, Low, Normal, High, or Highest.

Confirming that your message has been received

Ever wonder if your email fell through the cracks? You can now get confirmation that your message was received by a recipient. Messenger can notify you when the message was received, or when the message was opened. Messenger supports two types of return receipts: delivery receipts and read receipts.

Delivery receipts notify you that your message has arrived in the recipient's inbox on the mail server. The recipient's server must support the Delivery Service Notification (DSN) standard.

Read receipts notify you that the recipient has opened your message. The recipient must have a mail program that uses the Message Disposition Notification (MDN) standard.

To request return receipts for messages, you must first set preferences indicating the type of receipt you want. At the time you write the message, you must indicate that you want a receipt.

To set preferences for receipts:

From the Edit menu, choose Preferences. Open the Mail & Newsgroup Preferences category and then choose Return Receipts.

Specify the type of receipt you want: Delivery receipt (DSN), Read receipt (MDN), or both.

Specify whether to store receipt copies in your Inbox or Sent mail folder.

Specify how you want Messenger to handle requests for MDN receipts sent to you: never, or only from certain addressees. Click Customize to set options for handling those messages.

Click OK.

To activate the receipt notification for a message:

Click Options in the message composition window toolbar.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Click Return Receipt.

Do not request a return receipt if you're sending a message to a mailing list, an Internet newsgroup, or a newsgroup. Also, some servers may not support this feature.

Spell-checking a message before you send it (Windows and Mac OS only)

Save time spent proofing and embarrassment from typos and common spelling mistakes. Messenger can spell-check your messages before you send them.

Click Spelling in the message composition window.

Messenger checks for spelling errors in the body of the message using its main dictionary, which contains the most common words. If Messenger finds a word that is not in the main dictionary, it displays the word in the Spelling dialog box and gives you choices for correcting the possible misspelling.

For each word that Messenger displays in the Spelling dialog box, choose whether to correct the word, ignore it, or add it to the dictionary.

Click Stop when you are done.

Tip

You can also set a preference so that Messenger automatically spell-checks each outgoing message. Choose Preferences from the Edit menu, open the Mail & Newsgroups category, and then select Messages.

Saving a message draft

If you don't want to send a message right away or if you want to finish writing a message later before sending it, you can save the message in the Drafts folder.

Click Save in the message composition window.

Messenger saves a copy of the message in the Drafts folder.

To work on the message later:

In any message list window, choose the Drafts folder from the list of folders.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Double-click the message header to open the message to finish working on it.

Tip

You can edit any message by moving it to the Drafts folder and opening it, or by selecting the message and choosing Edit Message as New from the Message menu. Communicator saves the message in the Drafts folder until you send it or delete it.

Creating or using a message template

Templates are useful for formatting 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 a message composition window. If you regularly send messages like memos or weekly status reports, you can save time and avoid formatting hassles by creating templates. Using templates can give your messages a professional look by letting you present a consistent appearance. You can also take advantage of other people's designs; when you receive a message with a format you like, you can save it as a template, edit it, and reuse it.

To save a message as a template:

While displaying a message: open the File menu, choose Save As, then Template.

The message template is stored in the Templates folder in the message list window.

To edit or use a message template:

In the message list window, select the Templates folder.

Select the message template and then choose Edit Message as New from the Message menu.

Edit the message, then save it or send it.

Sending a message

Click Send in the message composition window.

If you are connected to a network or your Internet Service Provider, Messenger immediately sends the message. If you are working offline, Messenger moves the message to the Unsent Messages folder to deliver when Communicator reconnects.

Note:

Messenger is initially set to copy outgoing mail and newsgroup messages to the Sent folder. To change the folder settings for outgoing messages, choose Preferences from the Edit menu, open the Mail & Newsgroups category, and then click Copies and Folders.

Sending a message later

If you don't want to send a message right away, you can move it to the Unsent Messages folder for later delivery. You can do this whether you are working online or offline.

From the File menu in the message composition window, choose Send Later.

Messenger moves the message to the Unsent Messages folder. It remains there until you choose to send it.

Sending messages in the Unsent Messages folder

The Unsent Messages folder contains messages you've deferred for later delivery or messages composed and sent while working offline.

To send messages in the Unsent Messages folder:

From the File menu in a message list window, choose Send Unsent Messages.

Keeping message folders

Messenger provides these folders:

Inbox: where Messenger stores new mail

Unsent Messages: contains messages you've deferred for later delivery or messages sent while working offline

Note:

If you've upgraded to Communicator from a previous version of Navigator, this folder is called Outbox. If your computer did not contain a previous version of Navigator when you installed Communicator, this folder is called Unsent Messages.

• Drafts: contains messages that you want to finish later before sending


• Templates: contains formatted messages that you use regularly


• Sent: contains copies of messages you've sent


• Trash: contains messages you've deleted

You can also create your own folders to organize your mail.


Creating a message folder

• From a message list window or the Message Center, choose the File menu, and then choose New Folder.


• Type a name for the new folder.


• Choose the folder where you want Messenger to create the new folder.


• Click OK.

Moving messages to another folder

• From the message list, select the message you want to move.
Click a message header to select it. To select additional messages, hold down the Shift key to select adjacent messages. To select nonadjacent messages, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows and Unix) or the Command key (Mac OS).
• (Windows and Mac OS) Click and hold down the File button.
(Unix) From the Message menu, choose File Message.
• Choose the name of the folder you want to move the message to.

Opening a message folder

• In a message list window, choose the name of the folder from the folder list.

 

 
 
 
 
 



Searching folders for a message

• From the Edit menu, choose Message Search.


• Choose the folder you want to search.


• Choose the part of the message you want to use for the search.


• Choose a search condition.


• Type the text that you want to search for.


• Click Search.

If Messenger finds any messages that match your search conditions, Messenger lists them at the bottom of the Search dialog box. Double-click a message header to display the message.


Deleting a message folder

• In the message list window, select the folder that you want to delete.


• From the Edit menu, choose Delete Folder.

Keeping a personal address book

You can create and use your own personal address book to keep information (such as email addresses, postal addresses, and telephone numbers) about people you send mail to. You can also access other address books, provided for you by your system administrator, if they are available at your location.


Adding names to your address book

• From the Communicator menu, choose Address Book.


• Click New Card.


• Type the person's first name, last name, and email address.
See "Finding someone's email address" if you don't know the person's email address.
• Type a nickname for the person.
A nickname must be unique and can be any alternate name you want to use for this person. Nicknames are convenient because you can just type the person's nickname instead of their email address when addressing mail to them.
• Type any notes you want to keep for this entry.


• Click the Contact tab (optional).


• Type the requested address and phone information for this person (optional).
You can provide this information for your own convenience. It's not required.
• Click OK.


• Repeat steps 2 through 8 to add additional names to your address book.

Tip

To edit the information in a person's card, double-click the person's entry in the address book.

Adding senders to your address book

You can quickly add the names of people who've sent you mail to your address book without having to type their names in the address book.

In your Inbox, read a message that's from someone whose name you want to add to your address book.

If the message includes an address book card (located at the bottom of the message), click Add to Address Book (next to the address book card) to add the sender to your address book.

If the message does not include an address book card, continue with the following steps.

From the Message menu, choose Add Sender to Address Book.

Type a nickname for the person (optional).

A nickname must be unique and can be any alternate name you want to use for this person. Nicknames are convenient because you can just type the person's nickname instead of remembering their email address when addressing mail to them.

Type any notes you want for this entry.

Click the Contact tab (optional).

Type the requested address and phone information for this person (optional).

You can provide this information for your own convenience. It's not required.

Click OK.

Creating a mailing list

A mailing list is a collection of email addresses for a group of people you regularly send mail to. When you address a message to the mailing list, everyone in the list gets a copy of the message.

From the Communicator menu, choose Address Book.

Click New List.

Type a name for the mailing list.

This is the name that you'll use to address messages to this list.

If you want, type a nickname for the mailing list name.

A nickname must be unique and can be any alternate name you want to use for this mailing list. You can type the nickname instead of the mailing list name when addressing messages to this mailing list.

Drag entries from the Address Book window into the mailing list window's address area.

Continue adding names to the list.

Click OK.

Selecting recipients for a new message

You can use your address book to search for and select the names of people you want to send mail to, so that you don't have to type their email addresses.

Click the New Msg button.

Click the Address button.

Drag an address from the address book into the address area of the new message to add them to the list of recipients.

To select additional recipients, hold down the Shift key and click to select adjacent ones. Hold down the Ctrl key (Windows and Unix) or the Command key (Mac OS) and click to select nonadjacent ones.

If a recipient's email address doesn't appear in your address book, you can search for it. See "Searching for an entry" later in this chapter for more information.

If necessary, click "To:" to choose a different recipient type.

Click OK (or on Mac OS, the close box) when you're done.

Typing names from your address book

Click New Msg in Messenger's toolbar.

Begin typing the name or nickname of the first recipient.

If Messenger recognizes a person or mailing list name stored in your address book, it finishes entering the name for you.

Tip

If you have Pinpoint Addressing enabled, type the first few letters of the recipient's name and wait for Messenger to complete the address. Or you can type the name and immediately press Enter to have Messenger try to complete the address. See "About Pinpoint Addressing" for more information.

About Pinpoint Addressing

Using Pinpoint Addressing (autocompletion), you can easily address mail from the message composition window without having to search for names or type complete names. Messenger automatically checks the address book/directory you've specified and completes the name if it finds a unique match. Messenger also prevents mistakes by showing all possible choices with additional information if it finds multiple matches.

To set up addressing options:

From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.

Open the Mail & Newsgroup category and choose Addressing.

Use the items on the Addressing Preferences dialog box to set the options you want:

Pinpoint Addressing: Specify whether you want Messenger to "autocomplete" addresses using names from your address books and/or directory server.

When multiple addresses are found: Choose whether to display a list of choices, or simply to accept the address you have typed.

If there is only one match in your address books: Choose whether to use that entry and not search a directory.

When displaying full names: Choose how to display names in the address book window.

Click OK.

Tip

You can always turn Pinpoint Addressing off when you are in an address field by choosing Do Not Complete Address from the Edit menu of a message composition window.

Deleting an entry

From the Communicator menu, choose Address Book.

Select the entry you want to delete.

Click Delete.

Editing an entry

From the Communicator menu, choose Address Book.

Double-click the entry you want to edit.

Make your changes.

Click OK.

Searching for an entry

From the Communicator menu, choose Address Book.

Type the name you are looking for.

Choose the address book or directory service you want to search. To search a directory other than your personal address book, click Search.

Messenger searches for matching entries.

Tip

To add a recipient to the list of recipients in a new message, drag a name from the address book into the address area of a new message.

Creating your address book card

You can create a personal address book card (also called a vCard) and have Messenger automatically attach it to all outgoing messages. Your address book card provides information on how to contact you.

Follow these steps to create your personal address book card:

From Messenger's Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then open the Mail & Newsgroups category.

Click Identity.

Click Edit Card.

Type the requested information under the Name and Contact tabs, and click OK.

Click "Attach my personal card to messages (as a vCard)."

Click OK to close the Preferences dialog box.

Tip

If you decide not to include your address book card with a message you're composing, in the message's composition window, hold down the Attach button and uncheck "Personal Card (vCard)." On Unix, hold down the Attach button and uncheck My address book card.

Importing address books and mail messages (Windows and Mac OS only)

If you have an older address book from a previous version of Messenger or another program, you can add its entries to your personal address book. When you import another address book and add it to your own, Messenger does not overwrite entries in your address book. It simply adds the new entries.

You can also import address books and mail messages from Eudora and Outlook Express. All together, you can import three types of address book file formats: .csv (comma separated values), .tab (tab delimited), or .ldif (LDAP Interchange Format).

To import messages or address book files:

From the File menu, choose Import.

The Messenger Import Utility appears.

Follow the instructions in the utility to import mail folders and address book files.

Exporting an address book

To export an address book:

Click the Address Book button on the component bar.

If you have more than one address book, select the one you want.

From the File menu, choose Export.

Type a filename for the address book and choose the file type: ldif, .csv, or tab delimited.

Click Save.

Creating a vacation notification message

If you will be away from your office and unable to respond to your mail until you return, it may be possible for you to have Messenger automatically send a vacation notification message to anyone who sends you mail while you're away.

In the Messenger window, choose Server Tools from the Communicator menu. If the Mail Account command is available on the Server Tools menu, choose this command to create a vacation notification message.

This command is only available if the server you use to connect to the Internet provides support for managing mail accounts. If this command is not available, ask your Internet Service Provider or system administrator for information on creating a vacation notification message.

Sending and receiving secure email

To ensure security and privacy, Netscape Messenger provides encryption (scrambling) and digital signing (authentication) of email messages. Messenger's privacy features comply with the Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) standard. The S/MIME standard allows Messenger to send and receive encrypted messages and authenticate received messages. Using the S/MIME standard, Messenger also provides features that detect message tampering.

Message encryption is similar to putting your message inside an envelope to make it more difficult for unintended receivers to read your mail. A digital signature ensures that a matching certificate was used when signing a message. Without a digital signature, it's impossible for you to verify that the message actually came from the sender. When you receive a signed message, you can examine the sender's digital signature to help determine the message's authenticity.

Examining a message's security status

To examine a message's security status:

Read the message.

Click the Security button in Messenger's toolbar.

Obtaining digital certificates

To send an encrypted or signed message you need a digital certificate, which can be obtained from a variety of Certificate Authorities, such as VeriSign. You also need a valid digital certificate from each intended recipient.

To learn more about obtaining a certificate:

Click the Security button in Messenger's toolbar.

Click Certificates.

Going offline to work (Windows and Mac OS only)

You can save network connection time and costs by reading mail messages offline. Messenger lets you work as efficiently offline as you do online by keeping your messages and folders on your local drive in sync with those on the network. You select the mail folders, newsgroups, and directories you want to synchronize before you go offline.

To work offline:

From the File menu, choose Offline, then Work Offline. To go back online, open the File menu and choose Offline, then Work Online.

Or, click the Online/Offline connection button in the bottom left of the Communicator window.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Preparing to work offline

Before you work offline, Messenger lets you synchronize the folders, newsgroups, and directories you select to be copied locally. When you reconnect to the network, Messenger automatically synchronizes any changes you made when offline: it files or deletes IMAP or POP mail, creates folders, and searches mail (IMAP or POP).

When exiting, Messenger reminds you to synchronize your mail folders, directories, and newsgroups (Windows only).

Only changes since the last synchronization are downloaded locally.

You can choose to leave large messages on the server for faster synchronization.

Messages that you've composed while working offline can be sent as soon as you reconnect.

You can select which folders you want to synchronize, as long as you've subscribed to them.

For more information on working offline with newsgroup messages, see "Reading newsgroup messages offline (Windows and Mac OS only)" in Chapter 5, "Using Newsgroups."

To synchronize your folders for working offline:

From the File menu, select Offline, and then choose Synchronize.

You see the Synchronize Offline Items dialog box.

Use the dialog box to:

Specify whether you are downloading mail, newsgroups, or directories.

Send any unsent messages when you reconnect.

Have Communicator go offline immediately after synchronizing.

Click Select Items in the dialog box to further specify which mail folders, newsgroups, and directories you want to synchronize. If a folder contains subfolders, you must select them as well to download their contents.

Setting offline preferences

If you're using a modem connection, you might want to always work offline and go online only when you need to connect to the network. This can reduce online time and costs.

From the Edit menu, choose Preferences and click the Offline category.

Choose whether you want Messenger always to remember the state in which you last exited the program, or if you want to be prompted each time you start the program.

Choose how you want to handle messages in your Unsent Messages folder.

Check "Prompt me to synchronize my messages." When you exit, you will have a choice of whether you want to update the items selected for downloading.

Click OK.

Using your Palm device with Messenger (Windows only)

You can now send mail from any Palm-compatible platform device (e.g. Palm Organizer, Pilot, PalmPilot, Palm III, WorkPad) via Messenger, as well as synchronize calendar and address book entries between your Palm Organizer and Communicator.

For more information, see the Palm Organizer read-me files.

From the Windows Start menu, choose Programs, then Netscape Communicator, and then select Palm Tools.

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València  15th September 2000