Academic Computing Services
QUICK STUDY #21
March 2001
Using Z-Mail Electronic Mail on the RCS UNIX Platform
Please note that you must be logged in to an RCS UNIX workstation
in order to use the Z-Mail interface as described below.
To start Z-Mail, simply left-click on the Z-Mail option in the
RCS Applications menu. After a
few seconds, the Z-Mail
main window should appear on the screen. Extensive on-line help is available
when
you click on the Help menu at the upper right of the window.
There are three main steps to sending e-mail messages: addressing the message,
typing the text of the message, and then actually sending it.
To address your e-mail message:
- 1.
- Determine the recipient's e-mail address. If you're unsure of the
correct address, contact the person in advance and ask them.
- 2.
- Left-click on the Compose/Send button at the bottom of the
Z-Mail main window. The Compose Message window should appear, with a flashing
I-beam cursor after the To: field.
- 3.
- Type the recipient's e-mail address in the To: field, and press the
Enter or Return key.
- 4.
- The cursor is now in the Subject: field. Type the subject
of the message,
if any, and
press the Enter or Return key.
The cursor is now in the body of the message where you type the
text of your message. Lines will wrap automatically as you type.
If you make mistakes at any time, you can use the
Backspace key to delete them and then resume typing. You can move the cursor
by using the arrow keys or left-clicking at a particular location in the text.
You can also cut, copy, and paste material by using commands on the
Edit menu.
The Include menu at the top of the window
allows you to insert a file into your message; you may also use the
Attachments button at the bottom of the Compose window to attach a
variety of file types to your mail message.
To add a CC: or BCC: (Blind Carbon Copy)
address, click on the To: field
and select CC: or BCC: from the list. Type the recipient's address and
press the Enter or Return key.
When you have finished composing the message, send it by left-clicking on the
Send button at the bottom of the Z-Mail main window. The Compose
window will close.
When you receive new mail, the mailbox icon in the upper right
corner of the screen turns black and the mailbox's flag goes up.
- 1.
- If you have just started Z-Mail, new mail entries will appear
automatically in the
Message Summary window in the middle of the main window. If Z-Mail is
already running,
retrieve new mail by
left-clicking on the Get New Mail
button at the bottom of the Z-Mail main window. Any new mail entries
should appear in the Message Summary window in the middle of the main window.
New messages appear with an
exclamation point (!) after their corresponding message numbers.
- 2.
- Left-click on the desired message's corresponding line
in the Message Summary window to highlight it.
- 3.
- Left-click on the Read button in the lower left
corner of the main window. The contents of the selected message should
appear in a Z-Mail Message window.
If you received more than one new message, left-click on the Next
button at the bottom of the Z-Mail window to move on to the next mail message,
or left-click on the Done button to return to the main window.
Once you have read a message, you can either reply to it, delete it,
print it, or save it in a folder.
If the message is open in the Message window, simply click on the
Reply button at the bottom of the window.
If you want to include the message in your reply, instead of using the
Reply button,
use the left mouse button to pull down the Reply
menu at the top of the Message window, and left-click on the
Sender (Include Msg.) option.
The Compose Message window will open.
Notice that Z-Mail automatically created a new
mail header to the person who sent you the original message.
Type your reply and click on Send.
If you are in the Main Z-Mail window, you can simply highlight
the message line, and reply to the message by clicking on the
Reply button at the bottom of that screen.
To delete a message,
make sure the message line is highlighted in the Main Z-Mail window, and
left-click on the Delete button
at the bottom of the window.
You can also delete a message from the Message window.
If you want to undelete a message before you quit Z-Mail, move to the
Z-Mail Main window, left-click on the entry of the message you
previously deleted (it should have an asterisk (*) next to it),
and then left-click on the Undelete button.
To print a mail message, ensure that you have the desired message on the screen
in the Z-Mail Message window, and then use the left mouse button to
pull down the Message menu. Highlight the Print option; a
Printer window should appear; the ``PostScript" which appears in
the Printers
field refers to the default PostScript printer for the workstation.
You can choose not to print the header information.
Left-click on the Print button
at the bottom of the window to send the mail message to the
default PostScript printer closest to your current workstation.
Z-Mail stores your messages in folders. Incoming messages are delivered
to your ``Mailbox" folder which is opened automatically when you start Z-Mail.
Messages you send are saved by default in your ``outgoing" folder.
To save a message in a folder of your choice, left-click on the Save
button at the bottom of the main Z-Mail window, or, if the message is displayed,
click on the Save button at the bottom of the Message window.
A Save Mail Messages window will appear listing
folders within your Mail directory. Highlight the folder into which
you want to save this message. If you
wish, you can add a new folder by typing a name for it in the File: field;
this file will be added to your Mail directory.
When you have selected the appropriate folder,
left-click on the Save button. This window will
disappear when the message has been saved in the specified folder.
To read a message saved in a folder, click on Open from the Folder
menu in the Main window. In the Open Mail Folder window,
select the appropriate folder and click on Open.
A new window will open with the messages
saved in that folder, and you can read them in the usual way.
To quit Z-Mail entirely, left-click on the Quit button at the
bottom of the Z-Mail Main window.
Published by Academic Computing Services, RPI, Troy, NY 12180
Send comments to consult@rpi.edu.