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.

To start using &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups:

• Click the Mail & Newsgroups icon in the lower-left corner of the &brandShortName; browser window.

	Mail & Newsgroups icon

Getting Started with &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups

Using the Mail Account Setup Wizard

To set up a mail, newsgroup or blogs & news feeds 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 & Blogs & News Feeds Accounts.

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:

• your user name
• your email address
• the incoming and outgoing mail server names
• the incoming server type (IMAP or POP)

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

• your email address
• newsgroup server name
• account name

To set up a new mail, newsgroup or blogs & news feeds 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 the right arrow.
4. Identity: Enter the name and email address appropriate for this account, then click the right arrow. This window is not available for the Blogs & News Feeds account type.
5. Server Information: This window is not available for for the Blogs & News Feeds account type.
   • 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.
   • Enter the name of your incoming mail server.
   • Check the Leave messages on server checkbox if you want to leave messages on the server so that when you download messages, &brandShortName; does not remove the messages from the server.
   • If you want this account to be a part of the Local Folders Global Inbox account, check the Use Global Inbox box. Mail for this account will then be stored in your Local Folders. Otherwise, if the checkbox is unchecked, mail will be stored in its own directory.
   • Enter the name of your outgoing mail server (SMTP).

     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.

   • Click the right arrow to continue.
6. User Names: Enter the incoming and outgoing user names provided by your ISP or email provider, then click the right arrow. This window is not available for the Blogs & News Feeds account type.
7. Account Name: Enter whatever name you want to use to refer to this account, then click the right arrow.
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 get messages from your account. &brandShortName; Mail & Newsgroups will prompt you for your password when you retrieve mail for the first time every session. For detailed instructions on how to retrieve mail, 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:

• mail and newsgroup server settings (for example, message deletion and download preferences)
• storage settings for message copies and folders
• your reply-to address, organization name, and signature

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:
   • Add Account: Click this button to set up a new mail, news or blogs & news feeds account. Be sure to type the account information exactly as it is given to you. Move through the screens with the arrows, or click Cancel to stop account creation.
   • Set as Default: Select an account, then click this button to make the selected account the default one. The default account will appear at the top of your list of accounts in the Mail window. The change takes effect the next time you open Mail & Newsgroups.

     The default account determines which address is filled into the From: field when you compose a new mail with either no other mail or news account active (i.e. Local Folders or a blogs & news feeds account is selected), through an external application request, or by following a mailto: link.

     Note: You can't set a blogs & news feeds account as default.

   • Remove Account: Select an account, then click this button to remove it completely from your Mail window.
   • Outgoing Server (SMTP): Click this (at the bottom of the list of accounts) to modify information about the outgoing mail server. See Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Outgoing Server (SMTP) for more information.
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, 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:
   • Server Settings: The settings available depend on the type of server (IMAP, POP, or newsgroup server). For more information, see Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Server Settings.

     Important: If you need to change the server type (for example, from POP to IMAP) you must first remove the existing account. Next, you must exit &brandShortName; and restart it. You can then reopen the Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings dialog box and recreate an account with the new server type by clicking Add Account.

   • Copies & Folders: These settings determine whether to send automatic messages (blind carbon copies) and where you want to store copies of outgoing messages, message drafts, and message templates. For more information, see Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Copies & Folders.
   • Composition & Addressing: These settings allow you to choose your default format and quoting behavior when composing a message. You can also override the global directory server settings specified for all address books in the Preferences dialog box. For more information, see Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Composition & Addressing.
   • Synchronization & Storage (IMAP and News accounts only): These settings apply when you are working offline (disconnected from the Internet) or need to save download time and conserve disk space. For more information, see Synchronization & Storage Settings (IMAP) or Synchronization & Storage Settings (News).
   • Disk Space (POP and blogs & news feeds accounts only): This setting helps you manage the amount of disk space that downloaded messages take up on your hard disk. For more information, see Disk Space Settings (POP) or Disk Space Settings (Blogs).
   • Security: These settings determine which certificates are used to digitally sign and encrypt mail messages that you send. Digital signatures allow you to identify yourself reliably to others in mail messages that you send. Encryption helps ensure that your messages remain private while they are in transit over the Internet. For more information, see Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings - Security.
4. Click OK to save your changes.

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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.

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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