From...

Everything you wanted to know about e-mail (but were afraid to ask)

May 21, 1998
Web posted at: 12:16 PM EDT

by Scott Spanbauer, Gloria Hansen, Lincoln Spector, Steve Bass and Judy Heim

Dear Reader:

Wait, stop. Before you delete this message, read on. If you're like us, you probably have a hundred or more unread e-mails in your in-box. Not only do your coworkers, clients, friends, and family pelt you with messages, they expect you to reply.

Can you read hundreds of messages a day and still get any work done? No way. You need help sorting high-priority mail ('Let's talk about that raise') from the junk ('Make $$$ Working From Home!'). Is your in-box full of mystifying file attachments? We have clues for deciphering them. Want to switch to a better mail program? We can help you take your old address book and messages with you. And that's only the beginning.

To keep you from going postal, we've sorted out the hottest tips for today's leading mail applications. We explain how to master America Online's proprietary mail system, as well as Internet mail programs such as Microsoft's Outlook Express and Internet Mail, Netscape's Messenger and Mail, and Qualcomm's Eudora Pro. We also provide basic pointers to demystify any e-mail package, including LAN-based systems (see "General Delivery").

Since no mail program has it all, we've listed the best e-mail add-ons ("Mail Tools That Rule") and video mail utilities ("You've Got Face Mail!"). Our guides to Internet mailing lists ("Get on the List") and Usenet newsgroups ("It's News to You") tap the brainpower of the digerati.

If you like what you see in this article, send us some mail. But please, don't respond to every contributor on the list. We wouldn't want you to get flamed.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
	IDG.net home page
PC World home page
FileWorld find free software fast
Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
		IDG.net's handheld devices page
		IDG.net's portable computer page
IDG.net's Windows software page
IDG.net's personal news page
Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you
Search IDG.net in 12 languages
News Radio
	PC World News Radio
	Computerworld Minute audio news for managers

Empty That In-Box

Like toxic waste, the mail clogging your in-box won't go away by itself. Here are a few emergency cleanup tips for dispersing digital debris:

PRIORITIZE. You can't deal with every message right now, but do scan subject lines as soon as you download your mail. You don't want to miss that last-minute departmental meeting. While you're scanning, ruthlessly delete junk mail and nonessential message threads. Some programs, including AOL and Outlook, let you download just the message headers, so you can perform this triage before you download a single message body.

REPLY QUICKLY. If replying to a message frees you to delete it and move on, do it. Remember: You hesitate, you get buried.

DELETE, DELETE, DELETE. If a message doesn't contain information you'll need later (phone numbers, due dates, travel directions), nuke it. Or better still, set up your mail program to delete old messages automatically after a specified period of residence in your in-box--say, three months.

FILE IT. You'll want to keep some mail around. But don't just abandon it in your in-box where you'll never find it again. Most programs allow you to create customized folders so you can sort your mail by topic or project. When the project's over, archive the folder or delete it.

Filter Out the Spam

Most e-mail programs let you set up filters to scan incoming messages, check them against your list of known junk mailers, and discard any matches. But you can also use filters to highlight mail you do want to read. Set up filters to sound an alarm when you receive e-mail marked "urgent" or a message from your boss. Or have this mail sent to a high-priority folder that you check throughout the day.

Reply Automatically

Want to acknowledge incoming mail without having to craft a reply? Create an automatic response. Using a filter that looks for certain addresses or subjects, you can reply automatically to some senders (clients) but not others (Mom).

Skip the Big Stuff

To avoid tying up your phone line and filling your hard disk, tell your mail program to skip messages or attachments larger than a certain size (1 megabyte, say, or 100 kilobytes if you really feel strapped). Any program worth a damn will let you retrieve these large messages later when you have more time.

Stop Repeating Yourself

Never type anything (such as an oft-used e-mail address) twice. Let your mail program do the repeat typing for you.

REMEMBER YOUR PASSWORD. If your PC resides somewhere fairly safe (if you lock your office at night or work at home), you can usually instruct your mail program to log in to your mail server automatically. Just remember, the office janitor will have access to your account.

POPULATE YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. You want to send so-and-so a note responding to a query from last week, but you can't find the address. Next time, add the sender's name and e-mail address to your address book, so you won't have to hunt around for old messages in order to send mail.

MAKE A LIST. Do you often send messages to the same group of people? Create a mailing list (your program may call it a group or distribution list) containing their addresses so you don't have to type in each name every time.

SIGN OFF. If you participate in an Internet mailing list or send mail to people outside your company, append a signature file (or sig) to outgoing messages. Be sure to include your name, title, address, phone, and e-mail address. To avoid violating the rules of Netiquette, keep sigs to four or five lines.

Do the Address Book Shuffle

Are you thinking about switching to a different mail program but having unexpected difficulty locating a way to convert your program's address book to the new program's format? Interguru's $20 shareware service on the Web (www.interguru.com/mailconv.htm) converts address book files to and from just about any format you may need, including Eudora Pro, Microsoft Outlook Express, and Netscape Messenger and Mail.

More help with your e-mail at PC World

• Getting tricky with your AOL account (PC World)
• Microsoft Outlook Express and Internet Mail tips (PC World)
• How to master Netscape Messenger and Netscape Mail (PC World)
• Become a Eudora pro (PC World)
• Email tools that rule (PC World)

---

 

---

Watch Science & Technology Week on CNN for more sci-tech stories.

Sound off on our message boards & chat

© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.