FirstClass Electronic Mail
 
With FirstClass electronic mail you can:
 
   •  Read your mail   
   •  Compose and send mail
   •  Address mail to users by name using the user directory
   •  Reply to or Forward a message
   •  Attach files to messages and send them to others
   •  Organize your messages into Folders
   •  Track which messages have been read
   •  Include font, size and style information in your message
   •  Search on message subject, content and to/from names

All of this is presented in the familiar Macintosh graphical user interface so you don't have to learn a new system in order to enjoy FirstClass.
 
Reading your mail
 
When you first login to FirstClass you will see an icon labelled "MailBox". This holds all your incoming and outgoing mail and you can open it by double clicking on the icon with your mouse. When you open your mailbox you see a summary of your mail and any folders which you have created. For incoming messages the summary shows the sender, the subject of the message, the time it arrived and a black flag if the message has not been read. For outgoing messages the summary shows the first recipient, the subject of the message, the time it was last updated and a white flag if the message has not yet been sent. To read a message double click on the message that interests you. A new window will be opened which has two panels; the upper panel shows the envelope information (To:, From:, Subject etc.) while the lower panel contains the message contents. You can scroll either of these  panels independently. 
 
Composing and Sending Mail
 
Creating a New Message

To compose a new message, select "New" from the Message menu. (Note that "New" is also  available under the "File" menu for Macintosh compatibility). A new, empty message is created and displayed in a new window. The window has two panels; the upper panel shows the envelope information (To:, From:, Subject etc.) while the lower panel contains the message contents. You can scroll either of these  panels independently. 

Addressing the Message

The envelope panel contains a field where you can fill in a message subject, and "To:" and "Copies:" fields where you can enter a list of recipients. To address the message move the cursor, using the mouse, to the To: line and type in the last name of your intended recipient. If you are unsure of the name just type in the first few characters - the system will search for the name in its user directory and fill in the full name for you. If multiple names are  found, for example if you entered "smith", then a window is opened showing the matches and you can select from the list using your mouse. 

Completing and Sending

To enter the contents of the message use the mouse to move the cursor into the lower panel and type in the text of the message. When you are finished pick "Send" from the Message menu and your message will be delivered. Note that the "Unsent" flag is removed from the summary line after you send the message.

Tracking your Message using History

You can use the Message History feature to find out who has read your message. Select or open your message, pull down the Message menu and choose History. A window will appear showing those people who have read the message.

About Electronic Mail

Electronic Mail lets you exchange messages and files between other people. Incoming mail arrives in your "MailBox", and you can create "Outgoing mail" and address it to others. 

Messages usually have a sender and one or more recipients. When you open a message it will show the date it was sent, along with the Subject and the list of recipients. 

When mail is addressed, ordinary people's names are used for simplicity.

When a message arrives it is considered to be "Unread" until you open it by double clicking. A small red flag is used to mark messages as Unread.

When you create a message it normally is created in your mailbox and is marked "Unsent" with a small white flag. If you send it the flag is removed. This lets you create a message and then work on it later if desired. Once the message is sent a copy is retained in your MailBox. You can delete this immediately using the Delete command from the File menu or you can let it expire automatically. All messages expire after a pre-determined period, set by your administrator.

Reading your Mail

Your MailBox

When you first login to FirstClass you will see an icon labelled "MailBox". This holds all your incoming and outgoing mail and you can open it by double clicking on the icon with your mouse. When you open your mailbox you see a summary of your mail and any folders which you have created. For incoming messages the summary shows the sender, the subject of the message, the time it arrived and a black flag if the message has not been read. For outgoing messages the summary shows the first recipient, the subject of the message, the time it was last updated and a white flag if the message has not yet been sent. 

Opening a message

To read a message double click on the message that interests you. A new window will be opened which has two panels; the upper panel shows the envelope information (To:, From:, Subject etc.) while the lower panel contains the message contents. You can scroll either of these  panels independently. 

The Open Unread Feature

You can quickly read unread mail using the Open Unread feature. If you have unread mail, as shown by the unread flag beside your mailbox, simply pull down the File menu and choose Open Unread. The first time the command is used  it will open your mailbox. Subsequent times will open the next unread message, and close the previously open message so you can quickly display all your unread messages in sequence. This feature works best with the command key equivalent which is Command-U.

Using the palette

FirstClass provides a palette containing buttons which allow you to quickly navigate through your mailbox and conferences. There are six navigation buttons at the bottom of the palette. They are from top left to bottom right: Previous Unread, Next (Open) Unread, Previous in Thread, Next in Thread, Next, Previous.

Composing and Sending Mail

To compose a new message, select "New" from the Message menu. (Note that "New" is also  available under the "File" menu for Macintosh compatibility). A new, empty message is created and displayed in a new window. The window has two panels; the upper panel shows the envelope information (To:, From:, Subject etc.) while the lower panel contains the message contents. You can scroll either of these  panels independently. The envelope panel contains a field where you can fill in a message subject, and "To:" and "Copies:" fields where you can enter a list of recipients. 

Addressing

To address the message move the cursor, using the mouse, to the To: line and type in the last name of your intended recipient. If you are unsure of the name just type in the first few characters - FirstClass will search for the name in its user directory and fill in the full name for you. If multiple names are  found, for example if you entered "smith", then a window is opened showing the matches and you can select from the list using your mouse. To enter the contents of the message use the mouse to move the cursor into the lower panel and type in the text of the message. 

Sending

When you are finished pick "Send" from the Message menu and your message will be delivered. Note that the "Unsent" flag is removed from the summary line after you send the message.

How to Address Messages

Messages are addressed to either people or Conferences. In either case you simply enter the name of the person or Conference and the user directory is searched for names that match.

◊ Example:

To address a message to "John Appleby":

If you are unsure of the name you can just type a few characters of the last name and the FirstClass directory will display any names that start with the characters you have typed, so you can pick the one you want. So, typing:

ap

Might result in a list of names (or conferences):

John C. Appleby
Susan Apton
AppleSoftware

You can select the name you want by clicking on it with the mouse. Names can also be abbreviated so you can type "j appleby" or simply "appleby" to match John C. Appleby. You can also abbreviate the last name,  for example "appleb" would match John C. Appleby in our example.

See also:Using the Directory.

Using Reply and Forward

Reply

If you are responding to a message then you can use the "Reply" feature to automatically produce an addressed reply message with the Subject already filled in. To reply, open the message you wish to reply to, pull down the Message menu and select Reply. A new message will be created, addressed to the sender, and you can immediately begin typing your reply.

Forward

If you receive a message that you wish to send on to someone else, or if you wish to re-send a copy of one of your own messages, then you can use the "Forward" feature to create an unaddressed copy of any message. To forward a message, open the message you wish to forward, pull down the Message menu and select Forward. A copy of the message will be created which has not yet been addressed. It can be addressed using the normal method.

Expiry Dates

All messages, both incoming and outgoing, automatically expire after a pre-determined period. The message is automatically deleted soon after the expiry date by the system. The expiry period for your system is set by your adminstrator, however you can check the actual expiry date by using the "Get Info" command. Select the message you wish to check, pull down the File menu and choose Get Info. The expiry date is shown near the bottom of the window.

You can cancel the expiry date by clicking on the expiry date field in the Get Info window. If you do this then the message will never expire and it is your responsibility to delete it when it is no longer of any value.

Attachments: Sending Files by Mail

The "attachment" feature lets you mail files to other users, or conferences by "attaching" the files to a message. You then address and send the message as usual and the text of the message can describe the attached files. The recipients can save any or all of the attached files onto their own disk.

Sending a File to a User or Conference

To send a file to another user or conference, first create and address a message as usual. If you have not created a message before refer to the Help section on Messaging. To attach a file to the new message, pull down the Message menu and choose Attach. A standard file dialog will appear to let you pick a file to be attached. When you click on the Attach button the file will be transferred to the server (if you are connected by phone this may take a while). The attachment is shown in the header or envelope of the message. There is no limit to the number of files that you may attach.

You should add some descriptive text to the message to describe the attached file and then you can send the message. A copy of the message is delivered to each recipient and they may each save a copy of the attachment to their own disk.

Saving an attached file

To save a copy of an attached file on your own computer, open the message which contains the attached file and use the mouse to click on the attachment you wish to save. Pull down the Message menu and choose Save Attachment and the file will be transferred from the server to your computer (if you are connected by phone this may take a while).

Message History

Message history lets you track what has happened to a message. The history shows when the message was created, sent and who has read it.

To view the history of a message, select the message you are interested in, pull down the Message menu and choose History. A history window will appear showing the event (Created, Sent, Read, Forwarded etc.), the time it occurred and the name of the person who caused the event. 

Message history is ideal for finding out if your message has been received and read.

If a message has arrived from another site, the route that the message has taken will be displayed in the history.

About Forms

Forms are simply messages with additional fields such as pictures, text fields, check boxes etc. They are used to transmit formatted information via the FirstClass mail system and can be used in place of paper forms. FirstClass comes with an assortment of forms which you can create and send. 

To create a form pull down the Message menu and move the mouse to the New Form item. A menu of the available forms will appear and you can choose the form that you want. A new empty form will be displayed in a new window. Most forms have an address area similar to a normal message where you can enter a Subject, To and Copies names and attach files. Forms are sent using the Send command; an incoming form will usually have a distinctive icon - for example the phone message form has a small telephone icon.

Using the Directory to address messages

The user directory contains the names of all registered users and all public conferences. This allows you to address a message using only the person's normal name.  To address a message simply enter the name of the person or conference in the "To:" or "Copies" field and FirstClass will search the directory for the name and fill in the full name.

Example : John Appleby

If you are unsure of the speliing of this name you can just type a few characters of the first or last name and the system will display any names that start with the characters you have typed, so you can pick the one you want. For example, typing:

ap

Might result in a list of names (or conferences):

John C. Appleby
Susan Apton
AppleSoftware

You can select the name you want by clicking on it with the mouse, and closing the directory window. Names can also be abbreviated so you can type "j appleby" or simply "appleby" to match John C. Appleby. You can also abbreviate either name,  for example "jo app" would match John C. Appleby in our example.

Browsing the Directory

You can browse the directory by pulling down the Message menu and selecting "Directory...". This will present you with a dialog box where you can enter a name or the first few characters of the name(s) you want to look for. Click on the Search button to get a list of all matching names.

Addressing mail via a Gateway

If you are allowed to use gateways, you may address mail to other sites and systems. To do this you simply add a comma (,) to the name and follow it by the site you wish to send to. For example if John Appleby is on the system “Crystal Systems”  then his address would be:

John Appleby,Crystal Systems.

If your system is equipped with a gateway to a non-FirstClass system (e.g. the UNIX Internet), the you may address mail using the name of the foreign system:

jappleby@soft.com,Internet

In this case the format of the address preceding the comma is determined by the addressing conventions of the non-FirstClass system.

Sending to a Mail List

If your system has mail lists defined, you may send mail to a group of people by using a mail list which contains their names. Simply enter the name of the mail list in the To: or Cc: list. Example: Technical Support.