Go Back to

Starting the Software in the CIRCA Lab

Using Netscape on the CIRCA Lab PC computers, download a copy of Eudora version 3.0.1. A suggested download site is "http://www.shareware.com/". After installation on the C:\USER drive, the files located in Eudora's root directory can be copied to a floppy for floppy based operation. For configuring the software, read forward to the section Starting the Software From a Remote Site. Note: Every time you use Eudora on a CIRCA microlab PC, you may have to configure it.

Starting the Software From a Remote Site (home PC)

The installation should have created an icon for Eudora. Depending on your Windows version, the icon should be located either in the Start menu, or within a program group created at installation time.

If you have to configure Eudora:

The first time you run Eudora, you will need to configure it for use with your account. The configuration area is located under Tools then Options. From the list on the left of the popup window, select "Getting Started". Enter your POP account, enter your name, and select the Winsock PPP bullet. The POP account is similar to your E-mail account, but has the name of your POP server included. For example, if your E-mail account is "s4220as@nersp.nerdc. ufl.edu", your POP account would be "s4220as@pop3.nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu". Find out from your specific Internet Service Provider (ISP) what your POP account name is. Other configuration screens will use the information placed in these fields, so an entry is required. From the list on the left of the Options screen, select "Hosts". The POP account defined above will be present on this screen. Another field contains the label SMTP. This field is where you need to place the SMTP host address. Sometimes the POP and SMTP servers are the same, but are frequently different. SMTP is used for sending mail and POP is used to receive mail. For example, with the POP account used above, the SMTP host would be "smtp.nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu". Find out from your specific ISP what your SMTP host address is. The remaining two fields in the "Hosts" area are left blank. The remainder of the options area has a variety of selections that can be made. Further allowing you to personalize the software to your needs.

The Eudora Mail Interface

The Eudora mail window initially starts blank or with a mailbox list along the side. Figure W-2 above shows the blank window and the notes indicate the button functions. If the operation is available the button will be colored, otherwise the button will be gray. Other commands can be executed by selecting the pull-down menus at the top of the screen.

Figure W-3 below shows the window with the mailbox selection along the left side.

The status line at the bottom of the screen provides you with information about the item your pointer is placed on. It defaults to a message "For Help, press F1".

Setting and Changing Your User ID and/or Password

Eudora does not offer the ability to change your POP3 password from its interface. You will need to check with the system administrator of your Internet service provider to change it. If you have changed it, you will need to configure Eudora to know what the new password is. You can do this by choosing "Change Password" from the "Special" pull-down menu. Enter your password and click OK. This window will also be seen the first time you login, the password will be remembered for future use.

Writing a message

Now that you are familiar with the interface, you can create a message. To create a message, you can 1.) click on the New Message icon, 2.) choose New Message from the message menu, or 3.) or press [Ctrl-N]. A new composition window entitled No Recipient, No Subject is displayed with the blinking cursor placed at the start of the "To:" field.

The icon bar allows you to control your message's priority, override some of your preference settings for that message only, and send or queue the message. Each of the five icons may be turned on or off for the current message by clicking on it. A raised icon denotes that the icon has been turned on.

After filling in the fields, move the cursor to the space below the message header. Type the body of the message here.

If you change your mind and decide not to complete and send the message, just close the message window. You may need to select no on the "Save Message" window.

Sending Your Message

Notice the Send button in the upper right hand corner of the composition window. To send a message in its current state, click on this button.

The composition window will close, and the progress window is momentarily displayed on the screen. Eudora uses the progress window to report on the progress of lengthy operations.

The option is available to Queue your messages. In the configuration area, under "sending mail", un-tag the item immediate send. In the composition window, the Send button is now a Queue button. After composing a message, pressing the button will 'line up' the messages, ready to send. To send all messages in Queue, select "Send Queued Messages" under the File menu, or press Ctrl-T. Options are also available to send at scheduled times.

Receiving a Message

There are two ways to check your POP server to see if you have any new mail. One way is automatic and is determined by the Check for mail every x minutes setting in the "Checking Mail" area of the configuration. The alternative is to check for mail manually whenever you want by selecting Check Mail from the File menu, clicking on the check mail icon, or pressing [Ctrl-M]. Each time the Eudora program is opened, your password is requested prior to the first mail check, whether it is conducted automatically or manually. Upon the first check a dialog box is displayed requesting the password of your POP account. Type in the password and click OK. If you make a mistake before clicking OK, simply backspace and re-enter the password correctly. If your password is rejected, repeat the manual check by selecting Check Mail from the File menu or clicking the icon then re-entering your password.

After successfully entering your password, a progress window is momentarily displayed on the screen indicating that an attempt to reach your POP account is being made. When mail is found waiting in your POP account, the progress window remains on your screen, allowing you to monitor the transfer of messages from the POP server to your PC. This is followed by an alert stating that you have new mail. Click OK. The In mailbox window is displayed with your test message summary listed inside. Messages are listed in mailbox windows as individual message summaries. Refer to Figure W-6. A message summary is divided into fields containing the status and priority of the message, whether an attachment exists, the name or address of the sender, the time and date the message was sent, its size in K (K - 1024 bytes), and the contents of its Subject: field.

To select (highlight) the message summary, single-click anywhere on the summary. To open a message, double-click on its summary. Incoming messages are stored indefinitely in the In mailbox until they are deleted or transferred to another mailbox. To close the message, either click the close box in the upper left-hand corner of the message window or select Close from the File menu. The In mailbox can also be closed the same way.

Replying to a Message

To reply to a current message, select Reply from the Message menu. A new message window is displayed, with the original sender's address automatically placed in the "To:" field of the header. The original sender's text is also automatically included in the message body. This text may be edited as needed and is noted with the character ">". Additional text can be added to the reply, and the reply can then be sent or saved for further changes.

Reviewing and Deleting E-mail Messages

Within a mailbox window, a summary may be selected to review the message content or to be deleted. A message can be deleted from either the review state or highlighted in the summary state. To delete, click on the trash cans icon at the upper left-hand corner of the window. The delete function will move the message header to the Trash mailbox. You may choose and option of how to handle these "trash" messages. One way is to allow these messages to be stored in the trash mailbox and then manually remove them periodically. The alternative is automatic by selecting to "empty the trash" upon exiting Eudora. The automatic operation can be selected in the "Miscellaneous" section of the configuration options.

Beyond the Basics:

Sending Copies to Multiple Receivers

There are a number of ways to send the same message to many people. One way is to place each address or nickname in the 'To:' field, separated by commas. Another way is to place an address in the 'To:' field, then place a number of addresses or nicknames in the 'Cc:' field. In the 'Cc:' field, commas must separate multiple addresses or nicknames. And finally, another option is to create a nickname for a group of people and use the nickname in the 'To:' field. For further information on sending to a group of addresses using a nickname, see "Using Nicknames and an Address Book".

Sending Blind Copies

"Blind" copy. Like addresses listed in the Cc: field, addresses listed here receive copies of the message. Unlike addresses listed in the Cc: field, addresses listed here do not appear in the message header of the recipients. This is useful when you want to send a copy of a message to someone without everyone else knowing you did so. Multiple addresses are allowed but must be separated by commas. This field can be left blank.

Forwarding Messages

You may want to forward messages to other users. To forward a current message, select Forward from the Message menu. A new message window is displayed, with your address automatically placed in the "From:" field of the header. The original sender's text is also automatically included in the message body. This text may be edited as needed and is noted with the character ">". Additional text can be added to the message. Type the address of the person to whom you want the message forwarded in the empty "To:" field of the header. The message can then be sent or saved for further changes.

Using Nicknames and an Address Book

When addressing messages, Eudora supports the use of nicknames in place of full user names. A nickname (sometimes called an alias) is an easily remembered, shorter substitute for an actual E-mail address or group of addresses. Typically, nicknames serve as a typing and reference shortcut. Eudora allows nicknames to be used in place of proper E-mail addresses in the "To:", "Cc:", and "Bcc:" fields in the headers of outgoing messages.

To use a nickname, click on the address book icon. Highlight the desired nicknames by clicking once with the left mouse button. For more than one nickname at a time, hold the left mouse button down and move the pointer over all desired nicknames. Next, select the "To:", "Cc:", or "Bcc:" button (depending on which field you want the name placed into). Once selecting, a new message window will be displayed and ready for editing. The Nicknames window is still active and you will still be able to select more nicknames from the list. To switch back to the address book, select Address book or a window tile option from the Window menu. Please read further for information on nickname creation, editing, etceteras.

To create, edit, or remove a nickname, select Address Book... from the Tools menu or click on the address book icon. The Address Book window is then displayed. This window is divided into two main fields. The left side lists your nicknames, or addresses (whichever you choose to view by). The right side allows you to select the Address field or the Notes field.

To add a new nickname, click on the New button. A dialog window is displayed prompting you for a new nickname. Type the in the new nickname, then click OK. The new nickname is displayed on the left of the Address Book window, and the cursor is placed in the "Address(es):" field on the right of the window. Type the complete E-mail address of the person to be represented by the nickname. If you'd like to add someone's proper name to the address that you specify, put it in parentheses after the E-mail address. The proper name is placed the "To:" field of mail messages along with the full address.

You may also type a series of many E-mail addresses or nicknames, separated by commas, in the "Address(es)" section. These multiple addresses are represented by the single entered nickname. In this way, a nickname can be used for a group mailing list. A [return] (or [enter]) can be used in the "Address(es):" section to separate addresses as well. This is only allowed in this section... everywhere else, you must use commas. The "Notes:" field can be used to enter any text you'd like to associate with a nickname, such as the addressee's company, title, or phone number. The contents of the Notes field is not put in mail you send. One nickname can point to another nickname, which can point to still another, and so on; eventually, the nickname must end in a real address or group of addresses. Once you've finished typing addresses and notes, you can click the New button again to make another nickname. Or exit the Nicknames window.

To change a nickname, select Address Book from the Tools menu. Click once on the desired nickname in the left window to select it. Click on the "nickname:" field located at the top of the right frame within the Address Book window. Modify the name field as necessary. To remove the nickname, click once on the desired nickname to select it. Click the Del button.

When finished making additions or changes, close the Nicknames window. A window is displayed asking whether the additions/changes you just made should be saved or discarded. The option is available to place the nickname into a quick recipient list under the Edit menu. Do this by clicking the "put it on the recipient list" option when adding a nickname. You may also select to place the nickname into the recipient list by tagging the "recipient list" point button, located on the right frame of the Address book.

Sending Attachments

Any document can be attached to and sent with a Eudora message. To attach a document to a current outgoing message, select Attach File... from the Message menu, or click the Attach button. A file selection window is displayed. Once the desired document is located, select it and click on the Attach (open) button to attach the document to the message.

The attached document functions like a "rider" to the E-mail message, and thus it does not appear within the message text. Instead, the name of the document and the disk from which it was copied is displayed automatically in the "Attachments:" field of the message header. A document cannot be attached to a message through manual editing of the "Attachments:" field.

When the message is sent, if the chosen document is not a plain (ASCII) text file, it is formatted in the selected attachment format (MIME) and sent with the message. This allows you to send any kind of document through the mail, even applications.. MIME is the default encoding format. You have the option to change the default to BinHex as well. If the chosen document is a plain text file, it is not encoded in any special format before being sent. Instead, it is added to your message as though you had typed it in manually. Multiple documents may be sent with a single message, but each document to be attached must be selected as described above. To detach a document before the message is sent out, click anywhere on the name of the document in the "Attachments:" field of the composition window. Then, press [delete].

Receiving Attachments

There are two primary ways you can receive an attached document from another Eudora user. One way prompts you to choose what folder the attachment should be placed in and to assign the attachment's name. The other way automatically receives all attachments in a pre-specified folder on your disk. Both ways are described below.

Manual Receive of Attachments:

Unless you choose Automatically save attachments to in the Options window, whenever you receive a message with an attachment from another Eudora user a Save file window is displayed. Use this dialog to choose where to put the document and what to call it. Eudora automatically decodes the attachment, and it arrives on your disk just the way it left the sender's.

Saving Attachments Automatically:

The most convenient way to save attachments is to a pre-specified folder on your disk. To set this up, select Options... from the Tools menu. Then select the Attachments icon in the "Category:" list. Click on the large button beneath "Attachment directory:". A window is displayed through which you may choose a folder in which arriving attachments are automatically saved.

Double-click on the name of the folder into which you want Eudora to put attachments (its name should be displayed in the menu above the list). At this point, click on the Use Directory button. The window then closes, leaving the Options window displayed. The name of the folder you just selected to receive attachments is now shown in the button. If you ever want to specify a different folder to receive attachments, simply click on this button and the dialog for choosing an attachments folder is redisplayed. When invoking this option, attachments are decoded automatically and saved directly into the selected folder. The attachment's name is recorded in the message from which they came.

Non-Eudora Users Receiving Attachments:

If you send an attachment to someone who doesn't use Eudora, the attached file is included at the end of the message in the chosen attachment format. . If the attachment is encoded, it is not usable until the recipient has decoded it. Eudora allows an attachment to be sent in MIME, BinHex, or plain ASCII. The default option is setup in the Attachments area of the Configuration screen.

Getting Help On-line

On-line help is built in to Eudora, being logged in to your account is not necessary to use it. You can select the help icon from the top toolbar that provides "click and help" option. This icon is represented by a pointer and a '?'. Selecting this icon, will place a '?' on your mouse pointer... it will then display help on the next item you click. An alternative method is to press F1 for help on the item in which your cursor is placed.

Eudora provides a news and help mailing list as well, called Quest News. When online, simply select Quest News from the Help menu. Then select Subscribe. You may also unsubscribe here as well.

Continue to