How To Use WebMail

This reference is to better help you understand how to use the online e-mail program.

1. Login To WebMail
2. Navigating WebMail
3. Reading Your Messages
4. Composing a Message
5. Using Your Address Book
6. Configuring Options

1) Login to WebMail

Click here to open the login screen for WebMail in a new browser window. Enter your Login ID and your password. Your Login ID is something like joe@pcshome.net, your email address. Click the "Login" button. If you entered the correct Login ID and password, you should then be redirected to your WebMail inbox. If you received an error message, try re-entering your Login ID and password again. If you still cannot log in or you have forgotten your password, contact support@pcshome.net.

2) Navigating WebMail

The left pane of WebMail contains the main navigation, your five basic functions: Inbox, Address Book, Options, Logoff, and Help. These buttons will always appear on the left side of your screen. Clicking the "Inbox" button will open your Inbox on the right side of the screen. "Address Book" will open your Address Book. "Options" will allow you to change certain default options to personalize your WebMail. "Logoff" will exit WebMail. (You should always log off when you are finished using WebMail.) "Help" will pop up a new window with detailed information about using WebMail.

3) Reading Your Messages

Your Inbox is where your new messages are kept. Each message will appear on a separate line in your Inbox. To read a message, simply click the link under the "From" field. Your message will open in a new window. When you are done, you can choose from any of the options at the top of the message screen: Reply, Reply To All, Forward, or Close. Use "Reply" to reply to the sender of the message. Use "Reply To All" to reply to all recepients of the message you received. Use "Forward" to forward the message to a third party. When you are finished, click "Close." If you reply to or forward a message, another window will open with an area for composing a message. (See: Composing a Message.) To delete a message, check the checkbox to its left, then click "Delete." To select all your messages, click "Select All/Clear." WebMail will automatically check for new messages every minute or so, but you can use the "Check Mail" button to check for new mail manually.

4) Composing a Message

From your Inbox you can click "Compose" to compose a new message. A new window will pop up. In the To field, enter the email address of the person you wish to send this message to, or click the To link to select a recipient from your address book. (See: Using Your Address Book.) Cc stands for "Carbon Copy." This field is for adding alternate recipients to the message. Bcc stands for "Blind Carbon Copy." This field is for recipients you wish to not be seen by other recipients. The Subject field is for the subject of your message. You can click Attachments to add files to your message. (See: Adding Attachments.) Once you have entered all the information for whom you would like to receive this message, type your message in the big text area at the bottom half of the window. When you are finished, you can click "Add Signature" to add your signature to the end (See: Configuring Options,) or you can just click "Send Mail" to send your message. Click "Cancel" to discard the message without sending.

5) Using Your Address Book

Click "Address Book" in the left navigation pane. Your Address Book will open in the right side of the window. To add someone to your Address Book, click "Add Contact." A new window will pop up with a lot of empty fields. Fill in as many pieces of information as you would like. (If you fill in the "Website" field, you can click "Goto WebSite" at the top to open the Web Site in a new window.) When you are finished filling in the information, click "Save Contact" to add this person to your Address Book. The window will close. If you decide you do not want to keep this contact, simply press "Close" without saving the information. If you would like to remove a contact you have already added, simply click the checkbox next to the name of the person you wish to delete, then click "Delete Marked." WebMail will remove that person from your Address Book. When composing a new message, you can click the recipient field links (To, Cc, or Bcc) to open a smaller version of your address book. Check the boxes next to the names you wish to send your message to. Then click "Send To" to add them to your recipient list.

6) Configuring Options

Click "Options" in the left navigation pane to open the options screen. Enter the values you want for each field. Most of the fields are self-explanatory. Password Encryption should usually just be left set to its default value. Your Name is the friendly name that will be shown in the "From" field in your recipients' mailboxes. Reply To is the email address to which you would like all replies to your message sent. Signature is a default closing that can be added to the end of your messages to avoid the hassle of always typing your typical message closing. When you have set all the options to your preference, click "Save Settings" to return to your Inbox.