How To Use OSU Webmail (iPlanet Messenger Express)
Getting Started
Checking Your E-mail
Sending E-mail
Using Folders
Using the Address Book
The Options Menu
IMPORTANT: Logging Out
Additional Help
Getting Started:
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To get started using Webmail, go to the OSU Webmail page at: webmail.osu.edu, and login to the page using your OSU Internet username (lastname.#) and password. If you have an older style Internet username, usually fist initial and lastname, it will also work. Be sure to type the username in all lowercase, and make sure that the Caps Lock key is NOT on.
Checking Your E-mail:
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When you login to Webmail, the first screen you will see is the Inbox. All your new e-mail (as well as any messages you may have left in the account previously) will be in the Inbox. Use the Next and Previous buttons to move up and down through the messages in your Inbox. To return to the listing of messages available, click the Inbox button on the left-hand side of the navigation bar, near the top of the window.
NOTE: The "Back" and "Forward" buttons of most web browsers do NOT work within OSU Webmail. To navigate between pages in Webmail, be sure to use the appropriate navigation buttons on the page itself - the Previous and Next buttons while reading e-mail, or the navigation bar buttons (Folders | Inbox | Sent | Trash | Drafts | Addresses | Options) available near the top of the Webmail window.
Sending E-mail:
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To send a new message, use the Compose button. A new window will open where you can address and compose your message. If you want to change the priority label on your message (so that the recipient will see it as "Urgent" or "Non-Urgent"), you can do so at the bottom of the window. If you need to save your message for later, use the Save Draft button at the top of the window. The message will go to your Drafts folder (accessible from the navigation bar), where you can go back to it later. If you wish to include one or more attached files in your message, see Sending Attached Files Using OSU Webmail. To immediately send your message, use the Send button.
NOTE: If your web browser has any built-in popup protection, or you're running any other kind of popup-blocking software, the new windows opened by Webmail when composing new messages may not open correctly. Depending on how your software blocks popups, it may be necessary to list webmail.osu.edu as a "safe" site so the new windows are not blocked.
Using Folders:
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By default, your OSU Webmail account has four standard folders: Inbox, Sent, Trash and Drafts. If you want to create other folders to store your e-mail in, you can do so using the Folders link from the navigation bar. Click the New button to create a new folder. Type a name for the new folder, and click "OK". The new folder will then appear in your list of available folders. To transfer a message into one of these folders, from your Inbox (or any other listing of messages), place a checkmark in the box at the right-hand side of the message you want to transfer and select the appropriate folder from the Move messages to folder selection box. To view messages in different folders, either click on the name of the folder from the Folders page, or choose the desired folder from the Select Folder: menu available on most pages within Webmail.
Remember, there are limits to the amount of e-mail you can store on the system! See the article entitled Central E-mail System Quotas for more information about these limits and what can happen if you exceed the limit.
Using the Address Book:
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It is also possible to save e-mail addresses in OSU Webmail. To access the address
book, click the Addresses button on the navigation bar. You can add a
new person to your address book using the New Contact button. Not all
of the fields are required, but be sure to at least include a Display Name
and the E-mail Address. You can also create groups of contacts using
the New Group button. Another way to add names to your address book is
using the Add Addressees button in a message window. While reading a
message, you can use that button to automatically add the sender and other recipients
of the message to your address book.
To send messages using the address book, place a check in the box for the To, Cc or Bcc column of the address you want to send a message to and click the Compose button. A new message window will open with the selected address (or addresses) in the appropriate fields. You can also add people from the address book to a message using the Addresses button in the compose window, or by clicking the To, Cc or Bcc links in the compose window.
Changing Your Options:
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From the options menu, you can:
- Check your quota and how much space you're currently using. (Account Summary)
- Change your Reply-To address, or create a signature file to append to messages you send. (Personal Information)
- Change your settings on where deleted messages go and how sent messages are kept. (Settings)
- Change the appearance of Webmail, from the colors to how the toolbars appear. (Appearance)
- Set up a "Vacation Message" to automatically reply to people who send you e-mail while you're away. (Vacation Message)
By default, the Webmail Settings are configured so that messages are emptied from the trash when you log out, and that copies of outgoing messages are not stored in the Sent folder (or anywhere else).
It is not currently possible to change your name as it appears on outgoing messages from within Webmail. You can see how your name will appear on the Account Summary screen, but it must be changed from the Account Management page - click the "Change From name" tab and follow the on-screen instructions.
IMPORTANT: Logging Out:
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When you're finished using OSU Webmail, it's important that you log out of the system using the logout button located in the upper-right corner of the screen. This will securely end your Webmail session. Additionally, as mentioned above the default setting within OSU Webmail will also cause messages to be emptied from your Trash folder when logging out, thus removing them from the system and reducing the amount of your allocated storage space being used.
Webmail also has a built-in timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity. Activity is defined as clicking on links or buttons on the webmail page. Typing text in a new message does not count as activity. Thus, if composing a message that may take more than 30 minutes to enter, it is best to use a word processor and then paste the text of the message into the message field.
Additional Help:
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Additional Help on using the OSU Webmail client can be found under the Help link at the top-right, next to the Logout button.
If you're planning on using both Webmail and a POP client such as Eudora or Outlook Express, be sure to read our article on POP and Webmail interaction.
If you have any other questions about using the OSU Webmail client, or if you're encountering a problem, you can contact the OIT Technology Support Center. By phone: (614) 688-HELP (4357), TDD: (614) 688-8743, or E-mail: 8help@osu.edu, during regular business hours.
Current Record: 1455
Create Date: 09-17-2003
Last Reviewed: 08-12-2009
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