Introduction to E-Mail From the Saint Paul Public Library
What is E-mail? E-mail E-mail address E-Mail means “Electronic Mail” A way of sending messages electronically from one E-Mail user to another. You can sign up for a free e-mail account You can use your E-Mail from any computer E-mail address You need an e-mail address to send an electronic message to someone.
A street address is composed of three parts: 461 Dale Street 461 – Building Number Dale – Name of road Street – Type of street/avenue/road/etc.
An e-mail address also has three parts: joe55@gmail.com joe55 – Username @ – Pronounced “at”. Unique part of all e-mail addresses gmail.com – E-mail service where joe55 is registered
Websites and E-mail Addresses: jdoe@gmail.com Website address (or URL): www.sppl.org “@” sign for E-Mail Address that you use to send electronic messages You must get to a website before you can log-in to your account www. is “World Wide Web” for websites Use the address bar to enter the web-site address Also called a URL
Four Key Pieces of Information E-mail address (ex: joe55@gmail.com) Username (ex: joe55) Password (ex: hockey2323) Web address of e-mail service (ex: www.gmail.com)
How to Access Your E-mail You can access your e-mail anywhere you get Internet – a computer at home, at the library, at a friend’s house. You must go to the web address of your e-mail provider (such as www.gmail.com) From there, you will have to enter in your username and password.
Signing up for E-mail Type the web address of a e-mail provider in the address bar of your browser: www.gmail.com, mail.yahoo.com, www.hotmail.com Click on Create an Account A web page will appear asking for your name, birthday, gender, and other items. You will be asked to create a user name and a password.
What is a User Name? The user name is a unique name that identifies you to your e-mail service provider and to recipients of your e-mails. Your user name will appear before the @ symbol in your e-mail address: joe@gmail.com When you create your user name the e- mail provider may not let you use it. That’s because someone else already has that user name. In that case, the e-mail provider will offer suggestions that are currently available.
What is a Good Password? A good password should be at least 8 characters long. It should contain upper case letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. It should not be a recognizable word. The e-mail provider will let you know if the password is weak, medium, or strong. Don’t use a password you use for something else. Change your password periodically.
Protect Your Password! Memorize your password or write it down in a SAFE PLACE. Try not to keep username and password in the same place. Do not place a written copy of your password on the side of your monitor, under your keyboard, etc. Shred the written copy as soon as you have memorized your password. Do not allow anyone to look over your shoulder while you are entering your password. Change your password immediately if you think it has been stolen.
Logon Screen: Gmail
Logon Screen: Yahoo mail
Logon Screen: Outlook (Hotmail)
Inbox: Gmail
Inbox: Yahoo mail
Inbox Broken Down MENU FROM SUBJECT LINE DATE
Opening an email message Click anywhere between the 2 arrows.
Read the email message
Parts of the email message SUBJECT FROM (SENDER) TO (RECEIVER) MESSAGE:
Email message tools Archive: Move messages from Inbox to All Mail Return to inbox Archive Mark as Spam Send to Trash Move to Label Archive: Move messages from Inbox to All Mail Move to: Move message to another folder Label: Label the message with the name of a folder
How to send a reply Click on the Reply button.
Reply message panel displays TYPE REPLY MESSAGE HERE
Click Send After you have entered your reply, click the Send button. Your message has been sent.
How to send a reply in Yahoo mail Click on the Reply button.
Reply message panel displays TYPE REPLY MESSAGE HERE
Click Send After you have entered your reply, click the Send button. Your message has been sent.
Logging out BE SURE TO SIGN OUT (LOG OUT) WHEN YOU ARE DONE