Webmail User Guide

This web page offers some detailed help for using Island Classic Mustang Club's new Webmail system. It has been broken up into sections describing each screen you will see while using Webmail. Until you are familiar with the operation of Webmail, you may want to print a copy of this web page and keep it near your keyboard (or take it with you if you're travelling) for reference.

If you are experienced with our older version of Webmail, you will find it easy to locate the new features with the icon. Any feature not found in the older version has been flagged with this yellow and black graphic.

If you have any questions that are not answered in this page, please send email to [email protected].

Login | Message List | Read Message | New Message | Message Sent | Error


Login Screen      [Top]

Login is very simple. In the field labeled Username, enter your Island Classic Mustang Club login name. If your email address is [email protected], then your login name is johnsmith.

Next, enter your password in the field labeled Password. Your password is the same password you were assigned when you joined Island Classic Mustang Club, and the same password you use to gain access when dialing in.

If you are concerned with privacy and security, you can check the Expire checkbox. When this box is checked, Webmail will not cache any output or pages. This means that you can use Island Classic Mustang Club's Webmail at a public library or school without fear of someone else reading your mail after you leave. If you check this box, you will not be able to use the Back and Forward buttons of Internet Explorer or Netscape since the pages will not be cached.

You may now read your messages in one of two display versions -- Frames and No Frames. The framed version divides the Webmail screen into 3 "panes", only refreshing the pane as it changes, not the entire page. The unframed version loads a new pages each time the screen changes. It's really a matter of choice -- try them both, and see which one you like.

Once you have correctly entered your Username and Password, click on the Read Mail button. If you made a mistake, you will be brought back to the Login Screen to try again. (There is no warning of incorrect login). The Clear Form button erases all fields so you can start again if needed.

To view this page again, just click the link under the Read Mail and Clear Form buttons.

The Menu      [Top]

First, you will notice that Webmail incorporates our navigation menu bar along the top of each page, just as all our other pages do. In the left hand margin, there are several buttons, and we'll define each one below. These buttons will appear on almost ALL pages in Webmail.

As was the case with the older version of Island Classic Mustang Club's Webmail, you should stick to using the buttons on the web page for navigating. Using the Back, Forward, and Reload/Refresh buttons in the browser can lead to errors.

The Reload button requeries the mail server and current folder for the latest list of your emails and redraws the screen with the new message list. Clicking this button will always bring you back to the message list, no matter where you are in Webmail.

The Log Out button disconnects you from Webmail and returns you to the Login screen (when you are finished reading email, click Home in the navigation bar at the top of the page to return to Island Classic Mustang Club's main web site.)

The Compose button opens up the New Message screen so you can compose a new email. See the Help section New Message Screen for more information.

The Folders button opens up a form so you can manage your folders. You can set up folders to store your email, instead of letting it collect in your INBOX. See the Help section Managing Folders for more information.

The Address Book button should be self-explanitory. It opens up a form so you can add or delete addresses you email often. You can even set up Groups, where sending one email send a copy to everyone on the list. See the The Address Book help section for more information.

The Options buttons takes you to the preferences section, so you can define how Webmail will react each time you log on. You can define how your messages are deleted, how many messages to display per page, and even a signature tagline. See Setting Options for more information.

The POP Accounts button is our favorite. It opens up a page so you can define OTHER email accounts off of Island Classic Mustang Club's domain, such as school, work, or another ISP. See Defining POP Accounts for more information.

The Help button brings up this page. Since you obviously found this page, we won't go into much detail about it. *smile* Needless to say, it will open a new browser window and display this help file so you can learn how to use Webmail without having to log out.

Message List Screen      [Top]

After you click the Read Mail button on the Login Screen, Webmail will open your email account and display a list of any messages to you have waiting.

At the top of this window is a Change To button and a drop-down menu list of your defined folders. This allows you to change to the specified folder to manage your messages.

Since the new version of Webmail allows users to store messages in folders, a quota system has been implemented. At the top of the message list, you will see your quota status. Currently, each user has a 5 megabyte storage limit. This does not count towards your web storage limit of 10 megabytes.

If you do not have any email, Webmail will report that "No messages" under you email address at the top of the screen.

If you do have email waiting, then Webmail will report how many emails you have under your email address. If your emails exceeds the maximum messages per screen you have set in Options, then Webmail will list your LAST X number of emails, and give you access to the any remaining emails via buttons at the top of the screen (in numbered groups defined by your Options setting). The list is reversed -- meaning your newest email is first on the list, and your oldest email is last.

Your email will be presented in an easy-to-read list. The message list is divided into 7 columns. The first column, labeled as #, displays the message number. This number changes as you delete email, or more email comes in.

The second column is the Attachment column. This is simply a graphic of a paper clip next to each email, indicating that the email has some type of attachment included.

Column three displays tiny icons of envelopes.   In the unframed version of Webmail, you click on these icons to read the message. If you're using the framed version, you can still click on these icons, or click on the subject of the email. The icons actually show you the status of the mail. A simple envelope indicates you have not read the email yet, while an opened envelope shows you have read the message.

The fourth column is the mark checkbox column; it's labeled with an X. If you have read the message (or would rather not read the message) and want to delete it, you can check this box then click the DELETE MARKED button at the bottom of the page. You can do this for all emails on the screen, but be sure to click the DELETE MARKED button before changing screens or reloading messages, because the checkboxes don't stay checked if the screen is redrawn.

The fifth column (Message) shows you the senders name and/or email address, along with the email subject. Again, the framed version allows you to click on the subject to read the message, while the unframed version only lets you click the envelope icons.

The next two columns are Date and Size. The Date column shows the date and time of the email, and the Size column tells you how big the email is in bytes. You will notice that most emails are under 9000 bytes, but emails with file attachments are quite large (usually over 50000 bytes or more).

At the bottom of the screen, there are several new features. Placing a check mark in the box labeled Mark displayed messages automatically places a check mark in ALL visible check boxes, making it easy to move or delete multiple messages with very few clicks.

The Delete Marked button deletes any emails you have marked by checking the boxes under the X column. Once you have the emails you want marked, click the Delete Marked button. Be careful with this button, as you will not be asked "Are you sure?"

The Move To allows you to move all marked (or checked) messages from one folder to another folder you have selected in the drop-down menu to the right of the button. Just like deleting marked message, place a check in the box for each message you wish to move, choose a folder, then click the Move To button.

Reading Messages      [Top]

When you click on the envelope icon or the subject from the Message List screen, Webmail will display the email with the header information (Message X of Y, From, To, Date, and Subject) at the top.

Above and below each message, there are a number of buttons for navigation, replying, and deleting. Lets review them one at a time.

The Previous (left arrow) button moves you backwards in the message list. If you are reading Message 2 of 12, then clicking the Previous button will take you to Message 1 of 12. If you are reading the first message in your list (Message 1 of 12 for example), then clicking the PREVIOUS MSG button will reload the message list.

The Next button moves you forward through the message list. If you are reading the last message in your list (Message 12 of 12 for example), then clicking the Next button will reload the message list.

The Reply button is self-explanitory. It opens the New Message screen, imports the original message (the one you're replying to) into the message window, and allows you to add your reply. When you are finished, just click the SEND MSG button. If you decide you don't want to reply, just click the CANCEL MSG button to be returned to the message list.

Reply Aall does the same as Reply but sends the message to all recipients (sender, yourself, and any other recipients), and not just the sender. Be careful with this button, as your reply will be read by everyone who received the original email.

The Forward button does same as Reply, but allows you to enter a different email address in the To: field.

The Delete button only deletes the message you are currently reading, then reloads the message list. You will not be asked "Are you sure?"

The Headers button redraws the Message screen, but does not hide the detailed technical message header information. Most of this information is cryptic, and not of any importance to the common email user. The header information is useful for tracing email paths, and finding IP addresses of the sender.

New Message Screen      [Top]

Whenever you click on the NEW MESSAGE button, the New Message screen will open up and allow you to compose an email. There are a few fields on this screen you need to fill in.

The To: field is where you enter the email address of the person you want to send a message to. This need to be a fully qualified email address, consisting of a username, the "at" symbol (@), and a domain. [email protected] is a fully qualified email address. If the address is incorrect, the email you sent will be returned to you. If you want to send the same message to multiple recipients (not carbon copies), you can separate the email addresses with a comma.

The CC: field allows you to send a carbon copy (abreviated to CC) to another email address. As with the To: field, you can specify multiple carbon copy recipients by separating email addresses with a comma.
You will not have to worry about the From: field since Webmail will automatically enter your email address in this field.

The subject of your email should be entered in the Subject: field. This can be anything you wish, but should be representative of the topic of your message.

While it's not labeled as such, the Message Body field is 6 rows high, and is where you type the main body of your email. The text will auto-wrap in the text box as you type.

Once you are finished with the email, you can send it by clicking the SEND MSG button. This will send your email, and take you to a confirmation screen. See the Help topic Message Sent Screen for more information.

In the left hand margin, there are two buttons -- RELOAD MSGS and LOG OUT. The RELOAD MSGS button requeries the mail server for the latest list of your emails and redraws the screen with the new message list. The LOG OUT button disconnects you from Webmail and returns you to the Login screen.

Message Sent Screen      [Top]

When you send an email from Webmail, you are sent to a confirmation screen that tells you that the email was accepted (or sent) by the SMPT server and gives you instructions on what to do next. When you see this screen, there are two things you can do -- Reload the message list or Log Out.

In the left hand margin, there are two buttons -- RELOAD MSGS and LOG OUT. The RELOAD MSGS button requeries the mail server for the latest list of your emails and redraws the screen with the new message list. The LOG OUT button disconnects you from Webmail and returns you to the Login screen.

Error Screen      [Top]

If you ever see an error screen while using Webmail, PLEASE send email to [email protected] with a normal SMTP/POP email program (such as Outlook Express or Netscape Messenger).

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