Difference between revisions of "Webmail documentation"
| Line 99: | Line 99: | ||
<p class="first">Note</p> | <p class="first">Note</p> | ||
<p class="last">While composing a message, copies are periodically saved to the drafts folder to avoid unintentional loss. In case the session terminates unexpectedly or your computer or browser crashes, you’ll find a copy of the message on the <em>Drafts</em> folder. You can configure the automatic saving interval in the <em>User Preferences</em>.</p> | <p class="last">While composing a message, copies are periodically saved to the drafts folder to avoid unintentional loss. In case the session terminates unexpectedly or your computer or browser crashes, you’ll find a copy of the message on the <em>Drafts</em> folder. You can configure the automatic saving interval in the <em>User Preferences</em>.</p> | ||
| − | < | + | <p>=== Reply to a Message ===</p> |
<p>If you want to respond on a received message, click the <em>Reply</em> or the <em>Reply all</em> button in the toolbar or the equivalent buttons in the <em>Preview Pane</em>. This will also open the compose screen but with a quote of the message you’re replying to and with the recipient(s) pre-filled.</p> | <p>If you want to respond on a received message, click the <em>Reply</em> or the <em>Reply all</em> button in the toolbar or the equivalent buttons in the <em>Preview Pane</em>. This will also open the compose screen but with a quote of the message you’re replying to and with the recipient(s) pre-filled.</p> | ||
<p>While <em>Reply</em> will copy the sender address into <em>To</em> field, <em>Reply all</em> will add all recipients of the original message to the <em>To</em> and <em>Cc</em> fields.</p> | <p>While <em>Reply</em> will copy the sender address into <em>To</em> field, <em>Reply all</em> will add all recipients of the original message to the <em>To</em> and <em>Cc</em> fields.</p> | ||
| − | < | + | <p>=== Forwarding Messages ===</p> |
<p>Messages can also be forwarded to somebody by clicking the <em>Forward</em> button in the toolbar. The compose screen will contain the message text and all attachments already added. You can still add more attachments or remove some you don’t want to forward.</p> | <p>Messages can also be forwarded to somebody by clicking the <em>Forward</em> button in the toolbar. The compose screen will contain the message text and all attachments already added. You can still add more attachments or remove some you don’t want to forward.</p> | ||
<p>The <em>Forward</em> toolbar button offers the following options:</p> | <p>The <em>Forward</em> toolbar button offers the following options:</p> | ||
| Line 111: | Line 111: | ||
<p>=== Selecting Recipients from Address Books ===</p> | <p>=== Selecting Recipients from Address Books ===</p> | ||
<p>The recipients of the composed message can be freely entered into the <em>To</em> or <em>Cc</em> fields in the header section of the compose screen. Separate multiple addresses with a coma (,). Make sure you enter full and valid email addresses.</p> | <p>The recipients of the composed message can be freely entered into the <em>To</em> or <em>Cc</em> fields in the header section of the compose screen. Separate multiple addresses with a coma (,). Make sure you enter full and valid email addresses.</p> | ||
| − | < | + | <p>=== Address Book Auto completion ===</p> |
<p>While typing a recipient address, the app continuously searched your address book and suggests matching entries right below the input field. Use the cursor keys (up/down) on the keyboard to select one and then hit <Enter> or <Tab> to copy the highlighted address into the recipient field.</p> | <p>While typing a recipient address, the app continuously searched your address book and suggests matching entries right below the input field. Use the cursor keys (up/down) on the keyboard to select one and then hit <Enter> or <Tab> to copy the highlighted address into the recipient field.</p> | ||
| − | < | + | <p>=== Using the Address Book Widget ===</p> |
<p>If you prefer to select recipients from a list of contacts, use the address book widget on the left side to look them up. First, select the address book to browse on the upper part of the widget and see the contacts listed below. Only a limited number of contacts is displayed at a time so use the arrow buttons in the widget header to jump to the next page of contacts.</p> | <p>If you prefer to select recipients from a list of contacts, use the address book widget on the left side to look them up. First, select the address book to browse on the upper part of the widget and see the contacts listed below. Only a limited number of contacts is displayed at a time so use the arrow buttons in the widget header to jump to the next page of contacts.</p> | ||
<p>Select one or more contacts in the list and then click either one of the buttons below (<em>To+</em>, <em>Cc+</em>, <em>Bcc+</em>) in order to copy the selected contacts to the according recipient field. Double-click a contact in the list to have it added to the <em>To</em> field immediately.</p> | <p>Select one or more contacts in the list and then click either one of the buttons below (<em>To+</em>, <em>Cc+</em>, <em>Bcc+</em>) in order to copy the selected contacts to the according recipient field. Double-click a contact in the list to have it added to the <em>To</em> field immediately.</p> | ||
| Line 123: | Line 123: | ||
<p>Depending on your settings, the compose screen shows a simple text field to enter the message or a rich text editor with a toolbar that enables text formatting, bullet lists, image embedding and more.</p> | <p>Depending on your settings, the compose screen shows a simple text field to enter the message or a rich text editor with a toolbar that enables text formatting, bullet lists, image embedding and more.</p> | ||
<p>You can toggle the composition mode between plain and rich text (HTML) with the <em>Editor Type</em> selector which is hidden in the sending options bar. Expand the <em>Sending Options</em> by clicking the down-arrow on the left border of the message headers block.</p> | <p>You can toggle the composition mode between plain and rich text (HTML) with the <em>Editor Type</em> selector which is hidden in the sending options bar. Expand the <em>Sending Options</em> by clicking the down-arrow on the left border of the message headers block.</p> | ||
| − | < | + | <p>=== Embedding Images ===</p> |
<p>When in HTML editor mode, you can embed images right into the message text. And here’s how to do that:</p> | <p>When in HTML editor mode, you can embed images right into the message text. And here’s how to do that:</p> | ||
<ol> | <ol> | ||
Revision as of 13:09, 18 October 2017
Login to the Webmail
Open the URL given to you by the system administrator in your web browser. The site shows the Login screen, which is used to authenticate a user. Type in your email account username (usually your email address) and password into the according fields. Hit the Login button or press <Enter> on your keyboard to authenticate.
General Overview
General Overview
Once authenticated, the screen of webmail is divided into functional parts which are explained here:
(1) Application Tasks
The webmail application provides different main tasks such as Email, Address Book, Settings, etc. Use this list to switch from one task to another. That will reload the screen with a specific view for the selected task. Instead of switching back and forth, task screens can be opened in individual browser windows or tabs. Right-click on a task icon in the list and then choose “Open Link in New Tab/Window” from the browser’s context menu to do so.
Beside the main tasks, the button to terminate the current session (Logout) is also located here.
(2) Status Display
This area of the screen is dedicated to display status notifications (e.g. confirmations, warnings, errors) about the success or failure of the operations you just executed in the application. While the app is working or loading data, a notification is displayed here as well.
(3) Toolbar
The main toolbar is always located above the content area and allow you to perform different actions, depending on what is being shown or selected in the content part of the window. If buttons are grayed out, the according action is not available for the current selection. If a toolbar icon shows a small arrow on its right side, clicking that arrow will present you variations of the action to be executed.
Additional actions can be found by clicking the more button (if available).
(4) List Operations
The icons in the footer area of a list provide actions that influence the list above or the currently selected element of the list respectively. The gear icon usually opens a menu with additional actions.
(5) Search Box
If the currently selected task allows searching for data (e.g. for email messages or contacts), a search box is located in the upper right corner above the main content area. Enter a search term and press <Enter> on the keyboard to start searching. To reset the search, click the clear icon on the right border of the search box.
There might be search options hidden in a drop-down menu that open when clicking the search icon left in the search box.
Resizing content boxes
Some boxes filling the main content area of the screen can be resized. Find the resize handle between two boxes and drag it with the mouse.
Terminating the Session
Once your work is done on the webmail application, it’s important that you properly terminate the current session by clicking the Logout icon in (1). This will make sure that no other person accessing your computer can read or delete your emails or send them on your behalf. Simply closing the browser window is not enough to log-out!
Email Management
Messages List
This part of the screen is displaying the list of all messages in the currently selected folder. The number of messages displayed in the list and the total number of messages in that folder is stated right below the list. According to your settings, this list only displays a limited number of messages at a time. Use the allow buttons below the list to browse through the multiple “pages”.
The application periodically checks for new messages and will update the display if new emails arrived. You can force this check manually by clicking the Refresh button in the email view toolbar.
Open a Message for Reading
If the Preview Pane is visible, a single click on a message will display it in the preview right below the list. In order to open a message in full view or a new window (depending on your settings), double-click it with the mouse. Another way to open a message in a new browser tab or window is to right-click on the subject and then choose “Open Link in New Tab/Window” from the browser’s context menu.
Selecting a message in the list will also activate toolbar buttons that offer further actions related to the selected message, such as replying, forwarding or deleting it.
Mark Messages as Read or Flagged
When opening an unread message for reading it’ll automatically be marked as read. This can also be done directly in the list by clicking the unread star in front of the subject. Click it again to mark the message as unread.
If the flag column is visible (see Change message list columns) you can flag/unflag a message by clicking on the flag column of the message row. Furthermore there’s the Mark menu in the toolbar that allows you to flag all selected messages with one click.
Change messages list sorting
The sorting order of the messages can be changed by clicking the column in the list header which you’d like the messages being sorted by. Click it once more to reverse the order. The column used for sorting is highlighted in the list header.
Threaded message listing
Instead of sorting messages by their date or subject, conversations spawning multiple messages can be grouped together as “Threads”. Use the switch buttons on the left in the message list footer to toggle between List or Threads view. When in thread mode, groups of messages can be collapsed or expanded using the arrow icons in the leftmost column of the message list.
Change message list columns
The columns displayed in the list can be adjusted by clicking the List Options icon in the leftmost column of the message list header. This opens a dialog where you can select which columns to display and how to sort messages. Click Save to apply the changes and to close the dialog.
Note
The “From/To” column is a magic column that displays the sender of the message or the recipient when you switch to the Sent or Drafts folder.
The position of the columns in list can also be adjusted by dragging the header of a specific column with the mouse and dropping it at where you’d like it to appear.
Selecting Multiple Messages
With a single click on a row in the messages list, the according message is selected and highlighted. By pressing either the Shift or Ctrl keys on your keyboard while clicking on a message, you can select multiple messages or unselect them.
There are also selection helpers hidden in the Select drop-down menu located in the message footer. The menu allows you to select all unread or flagged messages at once or to invert or reset the current selection.
Mailbox folders
On the left side you see a hierarchical list of all folders in your mailbox. Folders can be used to file email messages by topic, sender or whatever you choose for organization.
Incoming messages usually appear in the Inbox folder which is the first item in the folder list. There are some special folders which are used by the system to store sent (Sent) or deleted (Trash) messages and where not-yet-sent message drafts (Drafts) are saved. These system folders are indicated with special icons.
The number of unread messages in each folder is displayed at the right border of the folder list.
Click a folder in the list to show the contained messages in the message list on the right. The currently selected folder is highlighted in the list.
Folders with hidden subfolders are indicated with a small [+] icon which can be clocked to expand or collapse the folder tree.
Folder operations
In the footer of the folder list, the Folder actions icon shows a list of folder-related actions when clicked. Most of the actions in the menu affect the currently selected folder.
Compact
This action will compress the folder size by finally deleting messages that have been marked for deletion.
Empty
This will delete all messages in the selected folder permanently. Be very careful with this operation as it cannot be undone. For security reasons, this action is only available for the Trash and Junk folders.
Manage folders
This menu item will take you the settings section when you can manage the mailbox folders. This is where you can create, delete, rename or re-organize your email folders.
Quota display
If your mailbox is limited by a maximum size, the quota display located in the footer of the folder list indicates the current usage of the available disk space. Move the mouse pointer over the percentage display to see the real numbers of your quota usage.
Preview Pane
If enabled, the preview pane below the message list displays the currently selected message right in the main email view. In order to open it, click the toggle icon in the message list footer. Clicking the same icon again will hide the preview pane.
Shortcut Functions
In the upper right corner of the preview pane are buttons for often used actions like reply or forward the message.
The rightmost icon will open the message in a new window to have a full-size view on the entire message.
Expanding the Message Headers
The preview pane is meant to give you a quick view of the message. Thus only important message fields such as sender and date are displayed right away. The header part of the preview can be expanded with click on the down-arrow at the left of the header.
Viewing Emails and Attachments
Double-clicking a message in the list opens it in full size or in a new window, depending on your message display preferences.
The header block now shows all message headers including a photo of the sender if one is found in your address book.
Open in a New Window
While looking at a message in the preview pane, it can be opened in a new window by pressing the button.
When opening a message in full-size view, the toolbar above shows buttons for possible actions to choose for this message.
Move to another Folder
Use the drop-down list on the top right of the toolbar to move the current message to another folder. When a folder is selected from that list, the message is moved there right away and the window will display the next message in the list.
Jump to the Next or Previous Message
Use the arrow buttons on the right side of the headers box to jump to the next or previous message on the folder. If there’s no next or previous message, the buttons will be disabled.
Add Contacts to your Address Book
Every email address referenced in the current message, either as sender or recipient, can be saved to the address book with a single click on the Add contact icon right next to it. Of course it won’t be saved twice if a contact with that email address already exists in the address book.
View or Download Attachments
If the opened message has any files attached, these are listed on the right, next to the message text. Click on the file name to open or download it. If the file can be displayed directly in the web browser, a preview window will be opened showing the attachment. This will happen for images, text files and PDFs if your browser indicates being able to display them.
Otherwise clicking the file name will initiate the download process and a dialog will most likely appear, asking you where to save the file. If that doesn’t happen, check the default “Downloads” folder on your computer for the attachment file.
Forcing Attachment Download
For files being opened in the browser directly, you can force download by either clicking on the Download link in the preview window or by right-clicking the attachment file name in the message view and then choosing “Save Link As...” from the browser’s context menu.
Image Previews
If enabled in the Preferences images attached to the message are listed as previews (aka “thumbnails”) right below the message text. Each image has links right next to it which let you either open the image in full size (Show) or Download it to your computer’s hard drive.
Composing a New Message
Click on the Compose toolbar icon opens the message compose screen. Depending on your settings it opens in the current browser tab or in a new window.
Enter at least one recipient address or select them from the address book, type in a subject and the message text and click the Send button in the toolbar when you’re ready to send the message.
Save it as Draft (toolbar icon) if the message is not yet complete and you’d like to finish and send it at a later time. The email will be stored in the Drafts folder and can be double-clicked there in order to resume composition.
Note
While composing a message, copies are periodically saved to the drafts folder to avoid unintentional loss. In case the session terminates unexpectedly or your computer or browser crashes, you’ll find a copy of the message on the Drafts folder. You can configure the automatic saving interval in the User Preferences.
Reply to a Message
If you want to respond on a received message, click the Reply or the Reply all button in the toolbar or the equivalent buttons in the Preview Pane. This will also open the compose screen but with a quote of the message you’re replying to and with the recipient(s) pre-filled.
While Reply will copy the sender address into To field, Reply all will add all recipients of the original message to the To and Cc fields.
Forwarding Messages
Messages can also be forwarded to somebody by clicking the Forward button in the toolbar. The compose screen will contain the message text and all attachments already added. You can still add more attachments or remove some you don’t want to forward.
The Forward toolbar button offers the following options:
Forward inline
In this (default) mode, the content of the original message is copied to the message text editor and can be altered or deleted. Also attachments of the original message are copied to the new message and can be removed individually. Attention: this mode can truncate or re-format HTML formatted messages.
Forward as attachment
With this option, the original message is copied as attachment to the forwarding message. This will preserve the message with all its formatting and attachments and doesn’t allow you to alter anything.
Selecting Recipients from Address Books
The recipients of the composed message can be freely entered into the To or Cc fields in the header section of the compose screen. Separate multiple addresses with a coma (,). Make sure you enter full and valid email addresses.
Address Book Auto completion
While typing a recipient address, the app continuously searched your address book and suggests matching entries right below the input field. Use the cursor keys (up/down) on the keyboard to select one and then hit <Enter> or <Tab> to copy the highlighted address into the recipient field.
Using the Address Book Widget
If you prefer to select recipients from a list of contacts, use the address book widget on the left side to look them up. First, select the address book to browse on the upper part of the widget and see the contacts listed below. Only a limited number of contacts is displayed at a time so use the arrow buttons in the widget header to jump to the next page of contacts.
Select one or more contacts in the list and then click either one of the buttons below (To+, Cc+, Bcc+) in order to copy the selected contacts to the according recipient field. Double-click a contact in the list to have it added to the To field immediately.
Adding Attachments
In order to attach files to the message, click the Attach button in the toolbar and then select the file on your computer using the file picker dialog that opens. Attachments to be sent with the message are listed on the right and can be removed again by clicking the Delete icon of the according file.
If your browser supports HTML5, you’ll see the file-drop icon at the bottom of the attachment list. That means you can drag a file from your computer’s file explorer with the mouse onto that icon in order to attach it to the message.
Composing Formatted (HTML) Messages
Depending on your settings, the compose screen shows a simple text field to enter the message or a rich text editor with a toolbar that enables text formatting, bullet lists, image embedding and more.
You can toggle the composition mode between plain and rich text (HTML) with the Editor Type selector which is hidden in the sending options bar. Expand the Sending Options by clicking the down-arrow on the left border of the message headers block.
Embedding Images
When in HTML editor mode, you can embed images right into the message text. And here’s how to do that:
- Add the image as attachment to the message.
- Click the Insert/Edit Image icon in the editor’s toolbar
- Select the image from the Image List drop-down menu in the dialog
- Hit the Insert button
- Resize the image in the text area if necessary
Using Prepared Responses
Saved responses can be handy when repeatedly writing emails with the same text, e.g. when answering support requests or sending invitations with always the same introduction.
The Responses button in the compose screen toolbar holds your personal set of “canned responses” which can be inserted into the message body by a single click. Note: these are only text snippets that can be inserted anywhere and not message templates with subject, text or attachments.
Insert a Response
Clicking the Responses button opens a menu that lists all the saved boilerplate texts by name. Simply click on one and the saved text will be inserted into the message at the position of the cursor, exactly where you stopped typing. If you selected some part of the message text with the mouse before, the saved response text will replace the selection.
Save a new Response
When typing the same text for the second time already you might want to store it for future email writing. In order to save a new response, first select the section of the message text that should be saved with the mouse and click Create new response from the menu behind the Responses button. This will open a dialog where you can review the text before saving. Give the new response a snappy name and click Save. It’s now added to the list of snippets to be inserted.
Edit Responses
Switch to the Settings section where you can manage all the saved responses.
Other Message Sending Options
The message sending options are hidden by default and first need to be expanded by clicking the down-arrow on the left border of the message headers block.
There you can switch the editor type to compose html messages and adjust other settings concerning the message delivery.
Priority
The priority flag of the message to be send. This will be displayed in the recipient’s mailbox.
Return receipt
Request the recipient to return a receipt confirmation when opening the message. This will be sent by the recipient’s email program if she confirms it.
Delivery status notification
Request a notification message when the message is delivered. This will be send by the email server upon message delivery. Please note that this doesn’t confirm that the actual recipient has received the message.
Save sent message in
Select the folder where to save a copy of the message after sending it. This defaults to the Sent folder and can be changed here. Select don’t save to just send the message without saving a copy.
Searching Email Messages
For searching email messages, first select the folder you want to search in the Mailbox folders list on the left. Then enter the search term into the search box above the message list and press <Enter> on your keyboard to start the search. Search results will be displayed in the message list.
Reset the search by clicking the Reset search icon on the right border of the search box. Switching to another folder will also reset the search and clear the search box.
Choose what parts to search
Open the search options menu by clicking the search icon left in the search box. You can select which parts of the message should be searched for the entered term. Check Entire message to search them all.
You can also type specific search criteria directly into the box, such as “from:Scott” or “subject:Conference.” Supported criteria keywords are:
- from:
- to:
- cc:
- bcc:
- subject:
- body:
Choose where to search
Also located in the search options menu, the “Scope” selector controls whether messages are searched in the currently selected folders, including subfolders or across all folders. If a search query is already active, changing the scope in this menu will immediately execute the search again and update the results in the message list.
Message List Filters
The drop-down menu next to the search box offers some predefined filters to quickly reduce the messages listed to their status or priority.
The filter rules selected here are applied in addition to the search term entered in the search box. For example you can choose to only list unanswered messages from Paul by selecting the filter Unanswered and enter “from:Paul” in the search box.
The message filters also depend on the “Scope” selected in the search options menu. Change the scope if you want to expand the active filter to list matching messages from all folders.
Organizing your Email Messages
The folder list in the email view lists all folder that can be used to sort emails into for temporary or final storage. You manage the folders in the settings section and freely choose the hierarchy of the folder tree.
Special System Folders
Some of the folders have a special meaning and are used by the system to place messages in. These special folders are indicated with an individual icon in the list and usually cannot be deleted or renamed.
Inbox
This is where new messages arrive.
Drafts
When composing messages you can save them temporarily as draft. Such messages are stored in this folder an can be picked up for editing here.
Sent
Unless configured otherwise, a copy of each message you compose and send to others will be saved to this folder.
Trash
When you delete a message it is moved to this folder and not deleted immediately. Depending on the email server’s settings, trashed messages will automatically be removed from this folder after a certain time. You can also empty the trash folder manually with the Empty command from the Folder actions menu.
The assignment of special folders can be changed in Preferences > Special Folders.
How to Move Messages to Folders
Filing messages to specific folders is as simple as dragging a message from the list with the mouse and dropping it on the folder you want it moved to. That also works with multiple messages selected.
If the target folder is a subfolder and not currently visible, just hold the mouse over the parent folder while dragging and it’ll expand automatically after two seconds. Move the mouse (while dragging) over the folder list footer to let it scroll until the target folder moves into sight.
Copy instead of moving
There’s also the possibility to copy a message into another folder instead of moving it there. Holding down the Shift key on the keyboard while dropping one or multiple messages on the destination folder will open a menu where you can choose to either Move or Copy them.
Moving from the Message View Screen
When reading a message in the full message view screen, you’ll find a drop-down menu labelled Move to... in the toolbar on top. Select a folder from that menu and the message will be moved there. The message view screen will then load the next message in the list of the current folder.
Using the Archive Plugin
If your webmail system has the Archive plugin installed, a button labelled Archive appears in the toolbar email task. This button moves the selected message(s) to the archive folder with one single click.
You can configure how the archive folder is organized and divided into subfolders either by date, sender or originating folder.
Note
In order to activate the archiving functions you first need to select a folder as archive in the Preferences > Special Folders settings.
Delete Messages
The selected message(s) can be deleted from the current folder by clicking the Delete icon in the toolbar or by hitting the <Del> (or Backspace on Mac) key on your keybaord. This will by default move the message to the Trash folder and not delete it right away unless you do this for messages in the Trash folder. In order to immediately delete the message in first place, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard while clicking the Delete button or when pressing <Del>.
There’s a preference in Settings > Preferences > Server Settings where the default behavior of message deletion can be changed.
Import/Export
The common exchange formats for email are MIME (.eml) and Mbox (.mbox) which are both supported for import.
Importing Email Messages
One or multiple files with either MIME or Mbox data can be uploaded to add email messages to the currently selected folder:
- Click the folder where the imported messages should be added.
- Select Import messages from the Folder actions menu behind the gear icon in the folders list footer.
- Select the file to import from your computer’s hard drive. You can select multiple files in the file picker dialog by holding down the Shift or Ctrl keys while selecting a file.
- Press Upload to start the import process.
Exporting Email Messages
Messages from your inbox or any other folder can be downloaded to your computer for archiving or backup. When exporting, messages will be saved as single .eml files.
Download a Single Message
To download an email message, first select a message in the Messages List and then choose Download (.eml) from the More menu in the toolbar. Choose where to save the exported .eml file if prompted, otherwise find the file in the “Downloads” folder on your computer.
Download Multiple Messages
Multiple messages will be packed into a Zip file for downloading. Select individual messages in the Messages List and then follow the instructions for downloading a single message. You need to unpack the downloaded .zip archive to access the individual message files.
Export an Entire Folder
For archiving purposes all messages from a folder can be downloaded as .zip archive without first selecting them in the list.
Switch to the folder you want to export and then select Download folder from the Folder actions menu behind the gear icon in the folders list footer.
Address Book
The Address Book task provides access to contact data saved in your personal or shared address books and a rich interface to manage them.
Directories and Groups
The leftmost pane displays a list of address directories and contact groups within each of the directories. Depending on your server configuration and installed plugins you might see multiple directories but there’s at least one directory which contains your personal contacts.
Contact groups are handy to organize your contacts. They can also be selected when composing an email message and will enter all members as a recipient. Groups will also appear in the auto-completion list when you start typing in the recipient field. A contact can be assigned to multiple groups.
Click a directory or a group in the list to show the contained contacts in the list on the right. The currently selected directory or group is highlighted in the list.
Create a Contact Group
In order to create a new contact group, first select the directory you want the group being created in. Then use the + icon on the groups list footer to get you an input field for the group name. Enter a unique name for the new group and hit <Enter> to finally create it.
The creation action can be aborted by pressing the <Esc> key while entering the group name.
Assigning Contacts to Groups
Contacts can be assigned to groups by dragging & dropping them with the mouse. Select one or multiple contacts in the list and drop them onto the desired group. It’s a simple as that.
Remove Contacts from a Group
List mode:
- Select the group in the list on the left
- Select one or mutliple contacts to be removed from that group
- Click the Remove selected contacts from group button in the contact list footer
Single mode:
- Select a contact in the contacts list
- Switch to the Groups tab in the Contact Details area on the right
- Uncheck the Group(s) you want it to remove from
More actions
Also in the footer of the groups list, the gear icon shows a menu with actions related to the selected directory or group.
Rename Group
Only enabled when a contact group is selected in the list above, this will let you enter a new name for that group.
Delete group
Deletes the group selected in the list above. Note that the contacts assigned to that group will NOT be deleted.
Save search
If you executed an address book search before, this option will let you save it as a filter for later use.
Delete search
Only available when a saved search is selected in the list above, this will delete that search filter.
Contacts List
The contacts of the selected address directory or group are presented in this list with their names. The total number of contacts in the particular directory or group is stated right below the list as well as the set that is currently displayed. Use the arrow buttons in the list header to navigate through the pages.
Note
you can change the way and order the contacts are listed here in the Address Book section of the user preferences.
Contact List Actions
The footer of the contacts list provides buttons that operate on the list or the current selection of contacts relatively:
Create new contact (+)
Opens the form to add a new contact to the selected directory.
Delete selected contacts
Deletes the contacts selected in the list above permanently.
Remove selected contacts from group
Removes the selected contacts from the currently selected group.
Send Email to Selected Contacts
The address book is not only to manage your contacts but you can also search and select contacts you want to write a new email message to. The Compose icon on the toolbar above is activated as soon as you selected at least one contact or a contact group. Click it to open the compose screen with the selected contacts filled in as recipients.
To start writing an email to a single contact, you can also click the email address in the Contact Details area on the right.
Copying Contacts
Contacts can be copied from one directory to another in a similar way as assigning them to groups. Simply drag one or multiple selected contacts with the mouse and drop them onto the target directory. Please note that some properties might be saved into other fields or not be copied at all if the address directories have different schemas.
Contact Details
The full details of a contact are displayed in the rightmost box of the address book screen. Select a single contact in the list in order to see the details here. Contact properties are structured with tabs and boxes grouping similar properties like phone numbers, postal or email addresses.
The groups tab allows direct assignment or removal for the contact to/from contacts groups.
Creating and Editing Contacts
Select a contact from the contacts list and then press the Edit contact button in the contact properties area on the right to start editing it.
In the upper part of the contact edit area are the name and organization fields as well as the contact picture to be uploaded.
The lower part shows the same groups of contact properties as the Contact Details structured with tabs and boxes.
Some properties have a type selector drop-down where you can select what type of email address (e.g. home or work) this is. Remove a contact property by either clearing the input field(s) or by clicking the Delete icon right next to it.
When done with editing, save your changes by clicking the Save button below the form. Abort editing and discard your changes with the Cancel button.
Add more contact properties
To add another property field, select one from the Add field... drop-down menu located below the form. The similar drop-down below the name fields in the header lets you add more name-related fields.
Note; depending on what directory the contact belongs so, the list of properties you can add to a contact can differ.
Upload a Contact Photo
Contacts have a picture assigned which is also displayed in the email task of the application if the sender of the message is saved with a picture in one of your address books.
To add or replace a contact picture, click the Add (or Replace if the contact already has a picture) button right below the picture placeholder in the edit form. Then select an image on your computer using the file picker dialog that appears. Once selected, the picture will be uploaded and shown immediately as a preview. Note that the new picture will be stored with the contact only after you saved the contact.
In order to remove the currently assigned picture from a contact, use the Delete button right below the picture and save the contact to apply the changes.
Create a New Contact
A new contact can be added to the currently selected address directly by clicking the Create new contact button (+) in the footer of the Contacts List. The form to add names and properties is the same as for editing. Finally create the new contact by clicking the Save button below the form.
Searching Contacts
For searching contacts enter name or email address into the search box above the in the toolbar area and press <Enter> on your keyboard to start the search. Search results will be displayed in the contact list in the middle. The number of contacts matching your query is displayed in the footer area of the contact list and in case the results span multiple pages, use the arrow button in the list header to browse through them.
Reset the search by clicking the Reset search icon on the right border of the search box.
Searching covers all directories and the results are mixed together from all sources. Which directory a particular contact belongs to is displayed at the top of the contact properties box, right above the contact’s picture and name.
Choose what properties to search
Open the search options menu by clicking the search icon on the left side within the search box. You can select which properties of a contact should be searched for the entered term. Check All fields to search them all.
Advanced Search Form
While the simple search box in the toolbar area just searches for the entered words across all contact properties, the advanced search function allows a more specific query on the address book.
Click the Advanced toolbar button and the search form appears in the contact area on the right. Here you can enter search parameters for the individual contact fields. For example you can search for all contacts named “Paul” (First Name) who are living in “New York” (Address).
Start the search by pressing the Search button below the form. The contact list in the middle will show all contacts matching all the criteria’s entered. If none is listed, the Status Display will display an according message.
Saved Searches
When having access to huge address directories, searching is probably the preferred way to navigate through them. Besides organizing contacts in groups, you can also create filters aka “saved searches”. Such a filter remembers the parameters used when searching for contacts and executes that search again when recalled.
Create a Saved Search
- Search the address book either by using the simple search box or the advanced search function.
- Select Save search from the options menu of the Groups list on the left.
- Give that saved search a name and press <Enter> on your keyboard to save it. This will add an item to the Groups list on the left.
- Click it to execute the search again and to see the results in the contact list.
Delete a Saved Search
- Select a saved search query in the leftmost pane.
- Open the options menu in the list footer and then click Delete search to remove it. This won’t delete any contacts but only the saved filter.
Import/Export
Importing Contacts
Contacts can be imported into the address books from vCard and CSV files.
- Click the Import button from the top toolbar in the address book view to open the import wizard.
- Then select the file to import from your computer’s hard drive. Make sure it’s either .vcf or .csv file.
- Select which address book the contacts should be imported to. The checkbox let’s you delete all contacts from the selected address book before importing. Be careful with this, the deletion cannot be undone!
- Click the Import button to start the importing process.
The next screen will display the results of the import process. Click Done to get back to the address book view and see the imported contacts.
Exporting Contacts
Contacts from the address books are exported in the vCard format only.
- Select the address book or group you want to export.
- Click the Export button in the top toolbar.
- Choose where to save the exported .vcf file if prompted, otherwise check the “Downloads” folder on your computer for a file named “your_contacts.vcf”.
The Export toolbar button offers the following two options:
Export all
That’s the default action of the button and will pack all contacts currently listed into the vcard file.
Export selected
If there’s one or more contacts selected in the list (do this by holding down the Shift or Ctrl keys of your keyboard while clicking individual contacts), this option will generate a .vcf file with only the selected contacts.
Settings
The behavior as well as the look-and feel of the application can be adjusted in various ways. The Settings task holds all the switches and panels to configure your personal webmail.
Preferences
The user preferences let you adjust various options and settings that control the behavior and the UI of the webmail application. The numerous settings are grouped by the following sections:
Note
After changing preferences, don’t forget to save them by clicking the Save button below the settings form.
User Interface
Language
The webmail is available in numerous languages. Switch it here if you like. When accessing the application, the language is automatically chosen from your computer’s operating system language.
Time zone
Dates displayed anywhere (e.g. when a message is sent) will be automatically translated into your local time zone. Set this to Auto to let the system use your computer’s time zone settings or select a specific time zone from the list.
Time format
Select how time (hours, minutes) are displayed.
Date format
Select the format how dates should be displayed.
Pretty dates
With this option checked, dates close to today will be translated into relative terms like “Today”, “Yesterday”, etc.
Refresh
Set the interval you want the system to check for updates (e.g. for new messages arrived)
Interface Skin
Choose the visual appearance of the user interface from a selection of themes.
Handle popups as standard windows
When user opens a messages or the compose form in a new window, this can either be a detached window with a smaller size and without toolbar buttons or, with this option activated, be a regular browser window or even just another tab in your current window. If enabled, all windows opened by the webmail application obey the settings of your browser.
Register protocol handler
You can register this webmail app to be opened whenever you click an email link somewhere on the web.
Mailbox View
Show preview pane
This shows or hides the Preview Pane in the mail view.
Mark previewed messages read
Select the delay to mark new messages as “read” when opening them in the preview pane.
Request for receipts
This option controls the behavior when you open a message for which the sender requested a read receipt.
Expand message threads
When listing messages in threads, this option controls how conversation groups are expanded in the list.
Rows per page
The messages list displays this number of messages at a time (aka a “page”). Increasing this number may result in longer loading times when opening a mailbox folder.
Check all folders for new messages
By default, only the Inbox is checked for new messages periodically. If you have server-side filters installed that will move incoming messages to other folders, you should check this option.
Displaying Messages
Open message in a new window
With this option checked, double-clicking a message in the email view will open it in a new window instead of the current browser window/tab.
Display HTML
Check this option to display formatted messages as the sender intended it. When disabled, formatted emails will be converted to plain text.
Display remote inline images
Formatted (HTML) messages can contain references to images which have to be loaded from a remote server. This can harm your privacy and reveal to the sender that you opened the message. This technique is often used by spammers to verify that your email address works and you may receive more spam.
Display attached images below the message
Enable this option if you want image attachments to be displayed below the message text.
After message delete/move display the next message
Controls whether the screen should jump to the next message in the list when opening an email message (not in the preview pane) and then move or delete it.
Advanced options
Default Character Set
Some email systems do not specify the character set when sending messages. In such rare cases the receiver (your webmail application) has to make an assumption how to display the special characters (e.g. éäç) and therefore uses this setting. Select the character set/language the majority of your email correspondents use.
Composing Messages
Compose in a new window
With this option checked, the message compose form will open in a new window instead of the current browser window/tab.
Compose HTML messages
Check this option to enable the rich text (HTML) editor when composing a new message. This is only the default setting for HTML message composing. It can be toggled at any time while composing.
Automatically save draft
While you write a new message, a copy will be saved to the Drafts folder ever few minutes. Select the interval or disable the automatic saving here.
Always request a return receipt
Activate the “Return receipt” sending option by default for new messages.
Always request a delivery status notification
Activate the “Delivery status notification” sending option by default for new messages.
Place replies in the folder of the message being replied to
Choose the current folder for saving the reply message to instead of saving it to the “Sent” folder.
When replying
This option controls whether and where to place the quoted original text when replying to a message.
Messages forwarding
Controls the mode how messages are forwarded by default when clicking the Forward button without choosing a forward mode.
Default font of HTML message
When writing a formatted (HTML) message, this font face and size is used for the default text formatting.
Default action of the “Reply all” button
When replying to messages coming from mailing lists, this setting controls how to reply to them.
Automatically add signature
Select in which cases the signature text from your sender identity is added to a new message.
When replying remove original signature
As the name suggests, this setting removes detected signatures from the original message when citing it in the reply.
Spellcheck Options
These checkboxes control the behavior of the spell checker function.
Advanced options
Attachment names
Sometimes receivers of your email messages have difficulties to correctly see the names of attached files. Adjust this setting in case you get complaints about garbled attachment names.
Use MIME encoding for 8-bit characters
This enables sending message texts the “safe” way but slightly increases the amount of data to be sent. Activate this option in case people cannot properly read message you send out.
Address Book
Default address book
Select the default address book where new contacts are saved to when adding them from the mail view.
List contacts as
Choose how names are displayed in the contact list.
Sorting column
Select the contact attribute used for sorting the contacts in the list.
Rows per page
The number of contacts displayed at a time (aka a “page”) in the contact list.
Skip alternative email addresses in autocompletion
With this option checked, every contact will only appear once in the autocompletion list that appears when you start typing in the recipient field. The first email address of the selected contact will then be inserted. If disabled, all email addresses of a matching contact are displayed for selection.
Special Folders
Some folders have special purposes and are used by system processes to store messages. This form allows you to choose which folders are used to store Drafts, Sent or deleted messages (Trash).
Show real names for special folders
With this setting enabled, the original names of the assigned special folders are displayed in the folder list instead of localized names.
When hitting the Archive button in the mail view, the selected messages are moved to this folder.
Divide archive by
This option allows you to organize your archive folder in various ways. The selected message(s) can be filed into sub-folders of the archive according the sent date, the sender’s email address or the folder the message is moved from.
When set to None, all messages will be stored in the Archive folder without any sub-folders being created.
Server Settings
This section provides more advanced settings that control how messages are treated by the email server.
Mark the message as read on delete
With this option enabled, unread messages are also flagged as read when deleting them right away.
Flag the message for deletion instead of delete
Email messages can be flagged as deleted first before they’re finally removed from a folder. That also allows to “undelete” them later on. In order to finally delete them, use the Compact command from the Mailbox folders operations menu.
Do not show deleted messages
This option suppresses messages flagged as deleted from being listed.
If moving messages to Trash fails, delete them
Moving to Trash can fail if the Trash folder isn’t selected or over quota. With this option enabled, messages are deleted from the current folder when you attempt to move them to Trash.
Directly delete messages in Junk
Messages in the Junk folder are also move to the Trash first when deleting them. Skip that step by enabling this option.
Clear Trash on logout
As the option name says, this will empty the Trash folder when you terminate the session.
Compact Inbox on logout
This will remove all messages flagged for deletion from the Inbox when you log-off.
Managing Folders
This section of the settings task allows you to manage the tree of mailbox folders.
The hierarchical folder tree is displayed in the middle list widget where you can select a single folder by clicking it. Folder information and some settings then appear in the right properties pane.
There might be folders which are grayed out and which cannot be edited nor deleted or renamed. Such folders are “virtual” folders which are only there for structuring but which cannot contain any messages.
Some Special System Folders cannot be renamed or unsubscribed because they have special purposes and are used by system processes.
Subscribe to Folders
In the folder list, the right column indicates whether a folder is subscribed and by clicking the checkbox, the subscription for that folder can be changed.
Subscribed folders appear in the email view whereas unsubscribed ones are hidden and only visible here.
Create a new Folder
- Click the Create new Folder icon (+) in the list footer
- Enter a name for the new folder in the properties form on the right
- Select a parent folder or — to create the folder on top level
- Click the Save button below the form to finally create it
Note
The Parent folder field is already pre-selected whith the folder currently selected in the folder list on the left.
Manage the Folder Hierarchy
Folders can be nested to build a hierarchical structure to store your emails. Even an existing folder can be made a subfolder of another one or moved to the top level.
To move a folder simply drag & drop it with the mouse from the list onto the desired parent folder.
Alternatively the parent folder can be selected in the property form in the right and by hitting Save the currently selected folder is moved to its new parent.
Delete Folders
- Select a folder in the list
- Open the Folder Actions menu in the list footer and click Delete
- Confirm the deletion
Personal folders can be shared with other users of the email server either for reading only or with fine-grained permissions. Select a folder in the list and if you’re permitted to control sharing for this folder, the sharing section below the folder properties on the right shows a list of users the folder is already shared with and their individual access rights.
Grant new Access Rights
- Click the Add entry button (+) in the sharing list footer
- Enter the username or choose one of the autocompletion entries proposed as you type. Instead of a specific user, permissons can be granted for all users or guests.
- Select the access rights you want to grant to the user
- Click Save to add the permission
Edit Access Rights
- Select the permission entry in the list
- Click Edit in the Access rights actions menu in the list footer or just double-click the line
- Adjust the Access rights in the dialog that appears
- Click Save to close the dialog
Revoke Access Rights
- Select the permission entry in the list
- Click Delete in the Access rights actions menu in the list footer
- Confirm the deletion
Search for Folders
If the list of folders happens to be very long, a search box can be unfolded from the magnifier glass icon in the header of the folder list. The folder tree is reduced to matching folders as you type in the search box.
Right above the search box, a drop-down menu provides ways to reduce the folder list to common scopes (aka “namespaces”) like “Personal”, “Shared” or “Other users”. The selection may vary with the capabilities of your email server.
Sender Identities
The settings here control the name(s) and email address(es) stated as sender when you send out email messages. Depending on the server configuration, you can define multiple sender identities or only adjust the name and other control fields.
Settings:
This first block contains general properties for the selected sender identity:
Display name
The full name displayed in the recipient’s email program upon receiving your message
The email address stated as sender of email messages you send with this identity. Please enter a valid email address that is handled by your email account. Otherwise message sending might fail because of an invalid sender address.
Note
The Email field might not be visible or editable. This is no malfunction but a restriction set by the server administrator to prevent users from sending email with faked sender addresses.
Organization
Some email programs display the organization field when receiving messages from you with this filled out.
Reply-to
Enter an email address that differs from the identity’s email addresshere in order to force recipients to send answers to that address instead of the sender email address.
Bcc
Specify an email address here that will receive blind copies of every message you send with this identity.
Set default
Check this box to make the current identity the default selection when writing new messages. You can still chose another sender identity while composing a message, though.
Signature
Every sender identity can have its own signature text which will be appended to the message text when you start writing a new email message. Visit Settings > Preferences > Composing Messages to configure when and how signatures are inserted.
Signature
Enter the signature text here.
HTML signature
Check this option if you mainly send formatted (HTML) messages and to enable formatting of your signature. The text box above will then show a toolbar to adjust formatting.
Adding Images to a Signature
HTML formatted signatures also allow to embed images which are sent with outgoing messages. To add an image to your signature, first check the HTML signature box. Then find an image file on your computer and drag & drop it into the signature box. The image can be moved around or resized within the editor box using the mouse.
Note
Instead of pulling and image file into the editor, you can also paste an image from your clipboard after copying it from another application or browser window.
Open the image in an image viewer or browser window, then press Ctrl+C to copy it, click into the signature text box at the position where you want the image to appear and press Ctrl+V to insert it from the clipboard.
Managing Multiple Sender Identities
Unless restricted by the server administrator, the identity list has control buttons for adding and deleting sender identities. If present, click the + icon in the identity list footer to create a new identity. Fill out the form and click Save to create it. The new identity is now added to the list and can be edited or deleted from there.
The Delete button also located in the identities list footer will delete the currently selected identity after displaying a confirmation dialog.
Canned Responses
This settings section lets you manage your personal boilerplates (aka “canned responses”) which are handy when replying to messages with prepared responses.
Edit Reponses
The middle pane displays a list of saved responses. Select one to see its name and text in the form on the right. You can right away edit both and save the changes by clicking the Save button.
Note
If the fields are not editable and there’s no Save button below, this is a global response defined by the system administrator which cannot be edited.
Create a New Response
Click the + icon in the response list footer to create a new response. Give it a name, enter the response text and finish with clicking the Save button.
Delete a Reponse
The Delete button also located in the response list footer will delete the currently selected item after displaying a confirmation dialog.
The button may be grayed out for global responses managed by the system administrator.
