| During
your class, your instructor will cover the basics of
getting around in your e-mail program (Outlook Express
or Netscape) and browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape).
Browsers and e-mail programs were created to work together,
so ideally you should use Outlook Express and Internet
Explorer together, or strictly Netscape. Additional
features will be available to you if you do this.
You
won't remember everything from class; below are some
of the tricks and tips shared in class.
General
Tips
- In
both browsers and e-mail programs, the most useful
tools are available to you with a right click. Remember
the right click!
- Cut/copy/paste
is a tool that will work in almost any Windows program.
You can copy something from your browser and paste
it into an e-mail.
- Cut,
copy and paste are located under the "Edit"
menu, and can also be quickly accessed through a right
click.
- Access
the Help files in programs that you are having trouble
with. These are very helpful and can speed the learning
process.
- To
highlight text:
- Place
your cursor at the end of the text
- Click
and hold down your left mouse button
- Drag
the mouse (while the button is pressed) over the
text until everything you want to cut or copy
is highlighted
- Let
go of the button once your text is highlighted
- Now,
you can cut or copy your text
- To
change your browser's home page:
Internet Explorer:
- Type
the address of the Web site that you want to make
your home page into the Address bar and
press Enter on your keyboard.
- Click
Tools in the Toolbar and then select Internet
Options.
- Make
sure the General tab is selected. Under
the Home Page section, click Use Current.
- Click
Apply and
then
OK. Your
Home Page has been changed!
Netscape:
- Type
the address of the Web site that you want to make
your home page into the Address bar and
press Enter on your keyboard.
- Click
Edit in the Toolbar and then select Preferences.
- First,
in the Navigator starts with section, click
Home Page.
- Now
move to the Home Page section and click
Use Current Page.
- Click
OK. Your Home Page has been changed!
Outlook
Express
Most
new customers are set up with Outlook Express, a powerful
and easy-to-use e-mail program included with Windows
98 and later versions.
The
first thing you should do in Outlook Express is to disable
the Preview Pane. New, harmful viruses can be
carried in sound file attachments that are released
as soon as the message is previewed.
To
disable the Preview Pane, Open Outlook Express
and click View in the Toolbar. Now click Layout...
You will notice that the lower section of the dialog
box contains the Preview Pane preferences. If you have
a check mark next to Show Preview Pane, click
the mark to get rid if it. Now click Apply and
OK.
Add
someone to your address book
There are several ways to add someone to your address
book. Below we have described three of them.
- Open
(Double Click) a message you have received. Place
your cursor over their name or e-mail address
and right click; a menu will pop up. Choose the first
option - Add To Address Book. Left click once
on this option and they will be added to your address
book.
- In
the main Outlook Express window, click on Addresses.
Your address book will open. Click on New and
then select New Contact. Enter as much information
about your new contact as you wish but all that is
required is an e-mail address. Be sure to enter the
e-mail address correctly.
Tip:
Remember, there is never a space in an email address.
If you ever receive an e-mail from someone and their
address appears to have a space such as: sample_email@whoknows.com
you should know that the space is actually an underline:
_. You can't see it because the whole address is
underlined as a link but the real address is: sample_email@whoknows.com.
- Click
New Mail to open a new mail message window.
Click on the word To: that has the little book
next to it. The Select Recipients dialog box opens.
From here, you can select the people that you want
to send your message to. In the bottom left-hand corner
you will see a New Contact button. Click here
to go into your address book. See above method
for further instructions.
To
send one e-mail to several people
There will be times when you want to send the same
e-mail message to several people. For example, if you
have recently changed Internet service providers your
e-mail address has changed and you need to notify everyone
in your address book of the change. You can do this
easily by selecting multiple recipients.
- Click
on New Mail to open a new mail message.
-
Click on the word To: with the little book
beside it.
- The
Select Recipients dialog book opens.
To send the same message to everyone in your address
book:
Click on the first person in the list. Now, scroll
to the bottom of the list and hold down the Shift
key while clicking the last person in the list. All
the addresses in the list should now be selected.
Simply click the To: button located in the
upper middle of the dialog box and then click OK.
Your message should now be addressed to everyone in
your address book.
Tip:
If you don't want everyone who receives the message
to see everyone else's address, Click the Bcc:
- Blind Courtesy Copy - button in the Select
Recipients dialog box. This way, the message
they receive will not disclose the addresses of
everyone that you sent the message to.
To
send the same message to selected individuals in
your address book:
Click on the first person that you wish to send
the message to. Now, hold down the Control
key while clicking on everyone else that you want
the message to go to. When you are finished selecting
recipients, let go of the Control key and
click the To: or Bcc: button. To
learn about the Bcc button, see above tip. Now
click OK. Your e-mail message should be addressed
to the people you selected.
For
your Information: Web-based
e-mail is now available! and Spam
E-mail Filtering.
Use
stationery
You can add backgrounds, images and color schemes
to your e-mails through the stationery option. To use
the following features, you must be sure that Rich
Text (HTML) is selected. In a new message, click
Format in the toolbar of the new message. Do
you see a black dot beside Rich Text (HTML)?
If not, click on those words. To choose your stationery,
click Format and select Apply Stationery.
Slide your pointer over onto the menu that appears,
and click More Stationery. The Select Stationery
box will open which allows you to single click on each
choice to see a preview on the right. When you have
made your choice, simply click OK.
Change
font
Now that
you've learned how to apply stationery with your e-mail,
you may want to give your font more style.
Tip:
Before you attempt to change anything, be sure that
any text you have already typed is selected. You can
do this quickly by clicking Edit (be sure to
click the Edit in the new message box!) and
Select All. This will select all the text you
have alreadly typed.
You
change the font type, size, style and color individually
by using the dropdown menus and buttons located directly
above the area where you type your message. Or you can
change all of these things at once: Click Format
and then click Font... Now you can change everything
about your font and see a preview before you decide!
View
an attachment
If you receive an e-mail message that includes an attachment,
you will see a paperclip to the left of the message
in your message list. To view the attachment, open the
message and double click on the filename of the attachment.
This will appear under the subject line.
You
will be asked if you want to open or save this attachment?
To look at an attachment, choose the Open option
and click OK. To save it to a floppy disk or
your hard drive, choose the Save option, click
OK and select a place to save the file. Remember
where you saved it!
Please
be careful when opening attachments. If you do not know
the sender, do not even open the message - just delete
it. If you do know the sender, verify that they truly
sent you the attachment. You can do this by sending
them a short message asking if they meant to send you
the attachment before you open the it. Or, you can work
out a system with the people you exchange e-mail with.
For example, agree to put the phrase, "Safe to
Open" in the subject line of any e-mail that contains
an attachment. Even better, agree on a password to place
in the subject line of any e-mail that contains an attachment.
Taking
this extra precaution helps guard your system against
dangerous viruses and will pay off in the long run.
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