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Astromatix!
The worst thing about Planet Globulus
is that it can get awfully lonely. No
friends to meet after class. Not even
a mother who calls to complain about
her weeds. Sniff! That's why we should
keep in touch by e-mail when I return
home. So let's start with the basics.
Creating
a message
With
Outlook Express, you don't need pen
and paper to write a message. You can
set-up a new message area with a
simple click of the Compose Message
button.
1.
On the toolbar, click the Compose
Message button. A new message window
will appear.
2. In the To box, type the
e-mail address of the person you are
sending the message to. For example,
Mary@school.com.
3. In the Subject box,
type the subject of the message. For
example, if the message is about an
upcoming science fair, type Science
Fair.
4. Type your message in
the message area.
5. On the toolbar, click
the Send button. Depending on the
connection you have to the
Internet, a message box may appear
telling you that the e-mail
message is being moved to the
Outbox. If it does appear, simply
click OK.
6. To send the
message from the Outbox, click the
Send and Receive button.
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Do
you ever have something to say to a
whole group of people all at once?
With Outlook Express, you can make
grand announcements without getting
sweaty hands or jittery knees.
Sending
messages to more than one person
You
can use e-mail to plan your weekends
at the Intergalactic Rodeo or discuss
ideas for the school science fair. All
you need to know is how to send the
same message to more than one person.
1.
In the To box, type the e-mail
addresses of all the recipients.
Separate each address with a
semicolon. For example:
mary@school.com;
james@school.edu;
terry@school.com
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Sending
copies to other people
What
happens if Terry wants to raise attack
bunny rabbits for the science fair?
It's a dangerous project and you
should warn him, and others, of the
hazards. The proper way to do this
with e-mail is to send a message
addressed to Terry and send carbon
copies to everyone else.
There are two different types of
copies: carbon copies (Cc) and blind
carbon copies (Bcc). You decide which
one is better for you.
Carbon
copies (Cc)
When
you send a carbon copy, the e-mail
addresses of the people receiving it
appear on the message for all
recipients to see.
To send a carbon copy:
1. Type the e-mail addresses
of the recipients in the Cc box.
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If
there is more than one address,
separate them using a semi-colon (;).
Blind
Carbon copies (Bcc)
When you send a blind carbon copy, the
e-mail addresses of the people
receiving it do not appear on
the e-mail message. This means the
e-mail recipients will not know who
else has received the message. Blind
Carbon copies are sneaky that way, so
use them sparingly.
To send a blind carbon copy:
1. Type the e-mail addresses
of the recipients in the Bcc box.
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What
if you're late for an appointment? Or
maybe you've run out of computer time?
Fuzzlogica! You don't need to worry
about finishing that message you've
started. You can save it for later.
Saving
a message so you can finish it later
Here's
how to keep a work-in-progress in a
safe place:
1. In the window that you are
composing your message, go to the File
menu and select Save.
A message box will appear to tell
you that the message has been saved to
your Drafts folder.
Retrieving
a saved message
When you have time to finish your
message, you will want to retrieve it
using these steps:
1. On the Outlook Bar, click
the Drafts icon. A list of message
titles will appear.
2. Find the message you
want to work on and double-click it.
Your message will open in a new
window.
3. Complete your message,
then click the Send button.
Sending
the message later
You
don't need to be connected to the
Internet to compose a message. With
Outlook Express you can write a
message while you are
"offline" and send it later
when you are online. If you are using
a dial-up line, you will want to pay
close attention. Composing your e-mail
while you are offline will save you
valuable connection time and lots of
astro-bucks!
1. Compose your e-mail
message.
2. On the File
menu, click Send Later.
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Your
message will be saved in the Outbox.
You may want to compose several
messages and save them in your Outbox
before connecting to the Internet.
When you are online again, click the
Send and Receive button and your
messages will be delivered all at
once.
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What's
the best part of e-mail? Checking it,
of course! You never know who or where
an e-mail may come from. Is it from a
student in your Block C, English
class? Maybe it's your best friend who
is trekking through Nepal. Who knows?
Perhaps the e-mail you receive won't
even come from this planet...
Opening
your Inbox
If
you want to check your messages, plant
your eyes on your Inbox folder. This
is where Outlook Express places your
incoming e-mail. Here's how to open
your Inbox:
1. On the Outlook bar, click
the Inbox icon.
Checking
for new messages
If you want to check for new messages,
simply click the Send and Receive
button on the Outlook bar. Outlook
Express will download your e-mail and
show you a list of subject titles in
your Inbox.
Reading
your mail
You can read your messages using a
small preview pane, or in a separate
message window. If you receive lots of
e-mail, you will probably use the
preview pane to sort interesting
messages from a nebula of junk mail.
For really important or long messages,
you can open a separate window that
will give you more reading room.
To view a message in the preview
pane:
1. In the message list, click
the subject line of the message you
want to read. The text of the
message will appear in the preview
pane located beneath the list.
To view the message in a separate
window:
1. In the message list,
double-click the message you want to
read. A separate window for the
message will open.
2. When you are finished
reading the message, close it by
clicking the 
button in the top right-hand corner
of the window.
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Picture
this. You receive an e-mail asking if
you would like a trip to captivating
Planet Globulus or the slime pits of
Gratzchuk. The answer is obvious, but
you should still send a reply. In most
cases, people who send you e-mail also
expect a speedy response. On that
note, let me know if Thursday is a
good day for your visit to Globulus. I
need to know soon since teleporter
trips must be booked in advance.
Replying
to an e-mail message
With
Outlook Express, replying to an e-mail
message is as easy as green moon pie.
All you have to do is decide who
should see your reply, then click the
appropriate button. Shmazzola!
A simple reply to the person who
sent the e-mail is used most often.
Here's how to reply to the author:
1. In the message list, click
the message you want to respond to.
The message will be highlighted with
a blue box.
2. On the toolbar, click the
Reply to Author button. A message
window will open. You will see the
original message in it.
3. In the message area,
type your message.
4. Click the Send button
to transfer your message to the
Outbox.
Replying
to everyone who received the message
My
intergalactic friends and I have been
using e-mail to discuss whether icy,
cold Pluto is worth visiting. To keep
everyone in the conversation, we use
the Reply to All button when we
compose messages. This feature makes
group communications a Saturnian
breeze!
Here's how to add your two cents to
an e-mail discussion:
1. In the message list, click
the message you want to reply to.
2. On the toolbar, click
the Reply to All button. An e-mail
message window will appear.
3. Write your reply, then
click the Send button. All the
people who received the original
message will now receive your
response.
Forwarding
an e-mail message
What
do you do when an e-mail message is so
interesting, you really MUST share it
with others? With Outlook Express, you
don't need to copy and paste the
message into one of your own. You can
simply forward the original message to
other e-mail addresses. Here's how:
1. In the message list, click
the message you want to forward.
2. On the toolbar, click the
Forward button. A forward message
window will appear.
Note: The original subject line
will appear in the Subject box, along
with the abbreviation Fw:
3. In the To box, type the
recipient's e-mail address.
4. You can add your
comments by typing in the message
area.
5. On the toolbar, click
the Send button. Once the e-mail is
sent, the Forward Message window
will close.
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As
a teacher, you already know the
importance of good spelling. Afterall,
what would the kids think if they
found a spelling mistake (gulp!) in
one of your
e-mails. You can plead that it's a
typo, but would they really believe
you? Thanks to out-of-this world,
space-age technology, you don't have
to plead your case in front of your
students. Whew!
Activating
the Spell-Checker
You
can set up Outlook Express so it will
automatically check the spelling in
all your messages.
Note: The Spelling command
may not be available if you do not
have Microsoft Office 95 or 97
programs (e.g. Microsoft Word,
Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft
PowerPoint) installed on your
computer.
1. In the Outlook Window,
click the Tools menu, then
click Options. The Options
dialog box will open.
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2.
Select the Spelling tab.
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3.
Under the heading General options,
click the check box next to
"Always check spelling
before sending".
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You're
set! Outlook Express will
automatically check the spelling in
your messages everytime you select the
Send button. If this astromatic
program finds an error, a Spelling
dialog box will open and suggest
different spelling options.
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Click the Change button to change the
spelling. Click Ignore to keep the
original.
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E-mail
Etiquette
Like
keeping your elbows off the dinner
table, watching your e-mail Ps and Qs
is essential. Here's an excerpt from Ms.
Manners E-mail Society Column to
illustrate some e-mail don'ts.
Daaarlings, it's that
time of year again. Yes, yes. I've
compiled my list of worst-mannered
members for your reading pleasure. If
you don't see your name on this list,
go ahead and count your blessings that
you've been the epitome of e-mail
grace. If you do see your name
here, don't be offended. Just get your
act together and avoid next year's
list.
Ta ta for now,
Ms. Manners
Mr. CAPs Lock
Being heard is very important to Mr.
Lock. Maybe that's why he shouts at
everyone by typing in all CAPITAL
letters. This rather annoying habit
has not endeared him to e-mail
society. Perhaps someone should tell
Mr. CAPs Lock that a more appropriate
way to emphasize one's words is using
asterisks like *this*.
Miss Spelled
Don't let first impressions fool you.
Miss Spelled is actually quite a
bright gal. You just have to look
beyond the missing vowels and
misplaced consonants to find her.
Unfortunately, this may take some time
and patience since what she says is
often confusing. Did she care for fair
weather? Or dare to wear leather? With
Miss Spelled, one can never be sure.
Ms. R. U. Thar
Despite her charming disposition and
wit, Ms. R. U. Thar is not very
popular among the e-mail elite. It
started when Ms. Thar ignored Didi De
Lite's e-mail invitation to "the
party" of the year--a serious
faux pas. Then, she didn't attend
Prince Charming's poetry reading. Ms.
Thar claims she didn't snub Didi and
the Prince on purpose--she just didn't
check her e-mail in time. Tsk, tsk, we
all know that checking e-mail
regularly is a must.
Mr. Verbose
No doubt, Mr. Verbose is one of the
most eloquent gents you'll ever meet.
But as well-versed as he is, Mr.
Verbose has a tendency to wander off
topic in his e-mails. For instance, is
it really necessary to give everyone a
play-by-play of his triple root canal,
or the removal of his ingrown toenail?
Ahem...a short and simple "I
won't be available" would have
sufficed.
Miss Mimi Broadcast
Someone take the Reply To All button
away from Miss Broadcast. That woman
doesn't know how to use the function
sparingly. Take for instance the
incident with last month's E-mail
Society newsletter. Mimi disagreed
with the editor's choice of stories.
However, instead of using the Reply to
Sender button to send a message to the
editor, she used the Reply To All key
and spammed all 50 people on the
mailing list. How uncouth!
Mrs. No-Title
Wait. What is the venerable Mrs.
No-Title doing on this list of e-mail
rogues? Doesn't she check her e-mail
regularly and write succinct messages?
Yes, she is the perfect e-mail
citizen--except for her habit of not
including a message subject. When she
does remember to type a title, she
will use an eternally vague,
"Hello" regardless of how
urgent the message is to the
recipient. Hello, Mrs.
No-Title. Please be specific with your
subject titles. |
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