This document is a basic introduction to the Mail program that comes with every Macintosh. It is based on the version of Mail that comes with Mac OS X 10.4, and is written for the University of Hawaii (UH) Macintosh user with a University of Hawaii (UH) Username. If you receive electronic mail (email) from a system other than UH, the information in this document may not apply to you.

Setup

1. To launch Mac Mail, double click on your hard drive, then double click on the Applications folder, then double click on the Mail icon.
    
2. If this is the first time you are setting up Mac Mail, click Continue.
   If this is not the first time, go to the Mail menu and select Preferences.  Click on the Accounts icon, then click on the + button.
    
3. Ensure IMAP is enabled, then fill in the screen as follows:
   
   Full Name: your name
   Email Address: <username@hawaii.edu>
   User name: <username@hawaii.edu>
   
   Click Continue
   
   You will receive an error message 'autodiscover.hawaii.edu failed', this is ok.  Press Continue until you can proceed.
    
4. Incoming Mail Server:
   
   Account Type: IMAP
   Description: Google@UH
   Incoming Mail Server: imap.gmail.com
   User Name: <username@hawaii.edu>
   Password: your password
   
   Outgoing Mail Server:
   
   Description: Google@UH
   Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.gmail.com
   Check the box for Use Authentication
   Uesr Name: <username@hawaii.edu>
   Password: your password
   
   Click Continue
    
5. At the "Account Summary" window, you should see that SSL for the incoming and outgoing servers is set to "on".  Click Create.
    
6. Go to the Mailbox menu and select Take All Accounts Online.
    
7. If prompted, type your password and click OK.

Mac Mail should now connect to the UH mail server, and display your messages and folders in the Mac Mail Main window. This may take some time depending on how many messages you have in your Inbox.

If the above steps do not work, please confirm your Mac Mail settings as follows.

1. Go to the Mail menu, select Preferences, then click on the Accounts icon.
    
2. On the left, click on your UH Mail account.
    
3. Now on the right, click on Server Settings.
   Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.gmail.com
   Server port: 587
   "Use Secure Sockets Layer" should be checked
   Authentication: Password
   User Name: <username@hawaii.edu>
   Password: your password
   
   Click OK.
    
4. Click on the Advanced button. Make sure the box for "Use SSL" checked. The port should be 993.
    
5. Close the window by clicking on the red dot in the upper left corner of the screen. If you are asked if you want to save the changes, click Save.

The Mac Mail Main window

This is what the Mac Mail Main window looks like:

The pane in the top right shows the list of messages in your Inbox.  The pane in the bottom right (the preview window) displays the message you have selected in the top pane.  The column to the left shows the different mail folders you have on the mail server.

The columns in the pane in the top right of the window shows the status of your messages.

	message is unread
	message has been read
	message has been replied to
	message has been forwarded
	message has one attachment (if it says 2, it has 2 attachments, if 3, 3 attachments, etc)

At the top of the window are the buttons for the most common mail functions, such as New for a new message or Delete for deleting a message.

Using Mac Mail

Checking for new messages

Go to the Mailbox menu and select Get New Mail.

or

Click on the Get Mail icon at the top of the window: 

Reading messages

To read an email, click on the message once to read the message in the preview window.  Alternatively, you could double-click on the message (in your list of messages) that you would like to read.  The message will then open in a new window.

Replying to a message

Highlight or open the message you wish to reply to. Go to the Message menu and select Reply. You can also click on the following icon at the top of the screen: 

A new window will then open, with the text of the message you are replying to included in the body of the email. The email address of the person who sent the message will be filled in on the To: line. Insert your cursor where you would like to insert your own text, and click once. This will place your cursor in the body of the email and you can then begin to type your reply. When you are ready to send the message, click once on the Send button in the upper left corner of the window.

Notes:

•  If you want your reply to include only part of the original message, highlight the portion you wish to include and hold down the Shift key while selecting Reply.

 

• If you want to reply to all of the people the original message was sent to, select Reply All from the "Message" menu or click on the Reply All icon: 

Sending a new message

Go to the File menu and select New Message. You can also click on the following icon at the top of the window: 

A "New Message" window will appear.  The cursor should be positioned on the To: line. Type the email address of the person you wish to send the message to on this line.  Press the Tab key to go to the Cc: line.  Add the people you want to Cc (Carbon Copy) here.  Press the Tab key to go to the Subject line. Type the subject of your message here.  If you wish to add a Bcc (Blind Carbon Copy) field, click on the down arrow to the left of the Subject line and select Bcc Address Field.  The Bcc line will then be added to your message.

Press the Tab key until the cursor is positioned in the body of the email. You can type the content of your email message here. When you have finished composing your email, click on the Send button in the upper left corner.

Forwarding messages

To forward a message, highlight the message (in your list of messages) that you wish to forward, then go to the Message menu and select Forward.

or

Highlight the message (in your list of messages) that you wish to forward, then click the Forward icon: 

or

Double click on the message you want to forward to open it, then click on the Forward icon.

A new window will then open, with the text of the message you are forwarding included in the body of the email. The Subject line will be filled in with the subject of the message, preceded by "Fwd:". Type the email address of the person who should receive the forward on the To: line. You can also add your own text above the message you are forwarding. When you are ready to forward the message, click once on the Send button in the upper left corner of the window.

Deleting messages

To delete a message, highlight the message(s) to be deleted, and press the Delete key on your keyboard. You can also go to the Edit menu and select Delete. You can also press the Delete icon on the toolbar: 

You can also use these methods to delete a message you are currently reading.

Deleted messages remain in the Trash mailbox (which is taking up space on your account).  By default, Mail will permanently erase deleted messages after one week.  If you wish, you can change this behavior:

1. Go to the Apple menu and select Preferences
2. Click on the Accounts icon
3. On the left, select your UH Mail account
4. On the right, click on Mailbox Behaviors
5. In the Trash section, change the option for "Permanently erase deleted messages when" to Quitting Mail (ITS recommended) or whatever you prefer.
6. Close the window by clicking on the red dot in the upper left hand corner.  If you are asked if you want to save the changes, click on Save.

Printing messages

Highlight the message(s) you would like to print, then go to the File menu and select Print.

or

Double click on the message to read it, then click on the Print icon: 

Sent mail

Mac Mail keeps a copy of all messages that you send. The copies are saved in your Sent mailbox. You can open your Sent mailbox by clicking on the Sent icon () on the left hand side of the Mail window.

Address Book

Mac Mail does not have a built-in address book.  Instead, it works in conjunction with the Address Book application that comes with your Macintosh.  Whatever you enter into the Address Book will be available to you in Mac Mail.

If you want to add someone to your Address Book, highlight a message from them in your list of messages, or read a message from them, then go to the Message menu and select Add Sender to Address Book.

You can also do the following:

1. Open the Address Book by double clicking on your hard drive, then double click on the Applications folder, then double click on the Address Book icon.
2. To add a new person, go to the File menu and select New Card.
3. A new card will be created with the first name field highlighted.  Type the person's first name, and press the tab key to go to other fields (last name, email address, etc).

Creating a group

A group email address is composed of several email addresses.  A group email address will allow you to send the same message to multiple email addresses. You would create a group email address if you often send the same email message to a certain group of people.

To create a group email address that you can use in Mac Mail:

1. Open the Address Book by double clicking on your hard drive, then double click on the Applications folder, then double click on the Address Book icon.
2. Under the File menu, select New Group.  A new entry with the words "Group Name" will appear in the Group column.  Erase this and type a name for your group.
3. In the "Group" column, click on All.
4. Drag and drop names from the "Name" column onto the group's name (that you created in step 2) to add them to the group.

Using the Address Book

1. Create a new message.  Click on the Address icon.
2. Select the name of the person or group you want to include in the message, and click on To: or Cc:

or

• Create a new message, and start typing the person's name or the group's name on the To, Cc, or Bcc lines.

Attachments

Setup (only have to do this once)

• Go to the Edit menu, select Attachments, then select Always Send Windows Friendly Attachments.

Sending an attachment

1. Create a new message (or reply to an existing message) and type your message as you normally would.
2. Click on the Attach icon () or go to the File menu and select Attach File.
3. A dialog box will appear. Locate the file you want to attach, then click on Choose File.
4. Your attachment should now appear in the body of the email. Click on Send when you are ready to send the message.  Mac Mail will automatically encode the file and send it with your message.

Receiving attachments

If someone has sent you an attachment, you will see a paperclip icon next to their message in your list of messages.  If you do not see the paperclip, you may have to go to the View menu, select Columns, then select Attachments.

You can also tell you have an attachment if, when you are reading a message, you see an icon with the name of the file at the bottom of the message.  Double click on the file to open the attachment.

You may also see something like "1 attachment, 365KB with a "Save" button next to it within the header of a message.

If you see this, you can save the attachment(s) in the message to your hard drive by clicking on the Save button, then choosing a location on your hard drive, then clicking Save again.

WARNING: One of the most common ways for a computer to be infected by a virus is through email attachments. Always double check to make sure the message containing the attachment is from a trusted source. In addition, you shouldn't open an attachment unless you were expecting it. WHEN IN DOUBT, DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT.

Quitting Mac Mail

To quit Mac Mail, go to the Mail menu and select Quit Mail.

Getting Help

Mac Mail comes with a comprehensive Help section.  It contains more information that was not included in this document.  To access the Help, go to the Help menu and select Mail Help.

You may also find the information in these articles helpful:

Mac Mail and your Email Quota
Using LDAP in Email Clients

• Contact ITS