# Getting Started with Mozilla Mail

In this section:

Using the Mail Account Setup Wizard

Setting Up Additional Mail and News Accounts

Changing the Settings for an Account

Viewing or Changing Your Identity Settings

Choosing Between IMAP and POP3 Mail Servers

Setting POP Server Information

Setting IMAP Server Information

Setting Newsgroup Server Information

Choosing Settings for Copies and Folders

Choosing Offline and Disk Space Settings

Choosing Addressing Settings

Choosing Outgoing SMTP Server Settings

## Using the Mail Account Setup Wizard

The very first time you launch Mail, if you have not already set up an account, Mail displays the Account Wizard so you can create an account. Later, you can add additional mail and newsgroup accounts from the File menu of the Mail window by choosing New, then Account. (Or, you can also open the Edit menu of the Mail window, choose Mail/News Account Settings, and then click the New Account button.)

The Wizard asks you to provide required information, such as your user name and email address. If you do not know a setting, you can exit the Wizard and consult your Internet service provider (ISP) or help desk.

To set up a mail account with an ISP or email provider, you'll need to provide:

- your user name
- your email address
- the incoming and outgoing mail server names
- the incoming server type (IMAP or POP3)

To set up a newsgroup account, you'll need to provide:

- your name
- your email address
- newsgroup server name
- account name

To set up a new mail or newsgroup account:

Begin from the Mozilla browser window.

1. Open the Task menu and then choose Mail. You see the Mail window.
2. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
3. Click the New Account button to activate the New Account wizard.
4. Choose the type of account you want to set up, and click Next. The information the wizard asks you to provide depends on the type of account you are setting up. The rest of the steps in this section assume you are setting up an account with an ISP or email provider.
5. In the Identity section, enter your name (as you would like it to appear in the "From" field of messages you send) and email address, and click Next.
6. In the Server Information section, select the type of incoming mail server (IMAP or POP3). Enter the incoming server name and the outgoing (SMTP) server name (this is the name of the mail server that sends your messages, and is also known as your SMTP host). Then click Next.

Note: Only one outgoing mail server (SMTP) needs to be specified, even if you have several mail accounts. The name of your SMTP host may not have been reported to you in your ISP information or by your system administrator. Your SMTP host may be the same as your POP3 or IMAP host. If in doubt, contact your ISP or system administrator.

7. In the User Name section, enter your user name and click Next.
8. In the Account Name section, assign a name for this account (for example, "Work" or "Family"), and click Next.
9. Verify that the information you entered is correct. If necessary, verify the information you entered with your ISP or system administrator.
10. Click Finish to set up your account.

You can add additional mail and newsgroup accounts from the File menu of the Mail window by choosing New, then Account. (Or, you can open the Edit menu of the Mail window, choose Mail/News Account Settings, and then click the New Account button.) Be sure to type the account information exactly as it's given to you. Click Next or Back to move through the panels. To cancel your account creation, click Cancel.

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## Setting Up Additional Mail and News Accounts

You use the Account Settings dialog box to add a new account, or to change information for an existing account, including:

- mail and newsgroup server settings (for example, message deletion and download preferences)
- storage settings for message copies and folders
- your reply-to address, organization name, and signature

To add a new account or change settings for an existing account:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings. You see the Account Settings dialog box.

- To set up a new mail or news account using the Account Wizard, click the New Account button.
- To specify an account as your default account, select it and then click the Set as Default button. Your changes will take affect the next time you start Mail. After you restart, your default account appears as the first account in your list of accounts in the Mail window. The default account is the one that you want to log into when you first start Mail. Also, Mozilla Mail automatically checks the default account for new messages when you first start Mail. (For POP accounts, Mail doesn't download the new messages until you click Get Msg on the Mail window toolbar.)
- To remove an account and its settings, click the Remove Account button.
- To modify information for the outgoing mail server, click the Outgoing Server (SMTP) item. See Setting Preferences for Your Outgoing SMTP Server for more information.

2. Click OK to save your changes.

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## Changing the Settings for an Account

To view or change information for an existing mail or newsgroup account:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Click the account name in the left-hand side of the Account Settings dialog box. You see information about the account, such as your email address and signature file, in the right side of the dialog box.
3. Click the Server Settings category (beneath the Account name). You see the Server Settings section, where you can edit mail or newsgroup server settings. The settings available depend on the type of server (IMAP, POP3, or newsgroup server).

   Important: If you need to change server type, server name, or user name, you must first remove the existing account. Next, you must quit Mozilla and restart it. You can then reopen the Mail/News Account Settings dialog box and recreate the account with the new settings.

4. Click the Copies and Folders category. You see the Copy and Folder Settings section, where you can specify whether to send automatic (blind carbon copies) messages and where you want to store copies of outgoing messages, message drafts, and message templates.
5. Click the Offline and Disk Space category. You see the Offline and Disk Space section, where you can specify settings that apply when you are working offline (disconnected from the Internet).
6. Click the Addressing category. You see the Addressing section, where you can choose addressing settings that override the global directory server settings specified for all address books in the Preferences dialog box.

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## Viewing or Changing Your Identity Settings

This section describes how to view or change your identity settings, such as your user name, reply-to address, and signature file. If you are not already viewing the identity settings, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Select the account name you want to change.
3. In the Account Settings section, type a name for this account, your name, email address, reply-to address (only if different from your email address), and organization (optional).
4. Select "Attach this signature" and then choose the name of the signature file you want to attach to your messages. Click Choose to locate the signature file.
5. Select "Compose messages in HTML format" if you prefer to create formatted text for mail and newsgroup messages using the HTML editor. Leave this item unchecked to use the plain-text editor. HTML messages can include formatted text, links, images, and tables, just like a web page. However, some recipients may not be able to receive HTML messages.

Tip: If you select this option, but you later want to compose a message or reply to a message using the plain-text editor, hold down the Shift key and click New Msg or Reply in the Mail window to temporarily choose the plain-text editor. Shift-clicking the New Msg button or the Reply button switches to the other editor.

6. Click Advanced if you want to choose a different server for outgoing messages.
7. Click OK to save your changes.

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## Choosing Between IMAP and POP3 Mail Servers

Mozilla Mail can work with two types of mail servers: IMAP and POP3. If your Internet service provider supports both, these descriptions may help you choose which one to use:

### Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)

Advantages: Your messages and any changes to them stay on your server, saving local disk space. Also, you always have access to an updated mailbox, and you can get your mail from multiple locations. Performance on a modem is faster, since you initially download message headers only.

Disadvantages: Not all ISPs support IMAP.

### Post Office Protocol (POP3)

Advantages: Your messages are downloaded to your local computer all at once, but you can also specify whether to keep copies of the messages on the server. Most ISPs currently support POP3.

Disadvantages: You must synchronize your local Inbox with your server's mailbox. This can result in downloading new messages over and over each time you connect. If you use more than one computer, messages might reside on one or the other, but not both. POP3 doesn't work as well as IMAP over a slow link connection. Also, you can't access all mail folders from multiple locations.

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## Setting POP Server Information

This section describes how to view or change POP server settings. If you are not already viewing the POP server settings, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings. Locate the account you want, and then click the Server Settings category under the account name. If you chose a POP server when you set up this account, you see your POP server settings.

You entered the Server Type, Server Name, and the User Name when you created this account. You can change the Port assignment if necessary.

2. Select "Check for new mail at startup" if you want Mail to automatically check this account for new messages whenever you start Mail. For POP accounts, Mail doesn't download the new messages until you click Get Msg on the Mail window toolbar.
3. Select the setting "Check for new messages every ___" and then specify the number of minutes between mail checks. If you do not select this setting, you can check for new messages at any time by clicking Get Msg in the Mail window.
4. Select "Automatically download any new messages" if you want Mail to retrieve messages immediately each time it checks the server.
5. Select "Leave messages on server" to store a copy of messages on the mail server in addition to downloading them to your computer.
6. Select "Delete messages on server when they are deleted locally" to remove messages from the server once you delete them from your computer.
7. Select "Limit message download to ___" to conserve disk space and download time by setting a size limit for incoming messages. Messages that are over the size limit you specify are displayed in truncated form; simply click on the indicated link to download the remainder of the message.
8. Select "Empty Trash on Exit" to empty the Trash folder whenever you quit Mail.
9. Click OK to confirm your changes.

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## Setting IMAP Server Information

This section describes how to view or change IMAP server settings. If you are not already viewing the IMAP server settings, follow these steps:

To view or change preferences for your IMAP server account:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Locate the account name you want and then select the Server Settings category. If you chose an IMAP server when you set up this account, you see your IMAP server settings.

The Server Type, the Server Name, and the User Name were entered when you used the New Account Wizard. You may change the Port assignment, if necessary.

3. Select "Use secure connection (SSL)" if your IMAP server is configured to send and receive encrypted mail. If you are unsure, contact the mail server administrator or your ISP.
4. Select "Check for new mail at startup" if you want Mail to check this account automatically for new messages whenever you start Mail.
5. Select "Check for new messages every ___" and then specify the number of minutes between mail checks. If you do not select this setting, you can check for new messages at any time by clicking Get Msg in the Mail window.
6. Choose a method for deleting messages:
   - Move deleted messages to the Trash folder. (Recommended)
   - Mark messages as deleted and remove them only when you compact a folder.
   - Remove deleted messages immediately.
7. Select "Clean up (Expunge) Inbox on Exit" to remove deleted messages from the Inbox when you exit Mail. Choose this if you chose to mark messages as deleted.
8. Select "Empty Trash on Exit" to empty the Trash folder whenever you quit Mail.
9. Click OK.

Advanced IMAP Server Settings

This section describes how to view or change advanced IMAP server settings If you are not already viewing the advanced IMAP settings, follow these steps:

Note: In most cases, advanced IMAP server settings are automatically supplied by the server. If you are unsure about the settings for this dialog box, consult your ISP or system administrator before proceeding.

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Select the account name and click the Server Settings category.
3. Click Advanced to set additional IMAP options, such as:
   - the IMAP server directory path
   - an "all folders" or "subscribed folders" view
   - support for subfolders
   - any personal and public (shared folder) namespaces for this directory
4. Click OK, and then click OK again to close.

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## Setting Newsgroup Server Information

This section describes how to view or change newsgroup server settings. If you are not already viewing the newsgroup server settings, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Locate the account name you want, and then click the Server Settings category to display the Server Settings. If you chose a newsgroup server when you set up this account, you see your newsgroup server settings.

The Server Type, the Server Name, and the User Name were entered when you used the New Account Wizard. You may change the Port assignment, if necessary.

3. Select "Use secure connection (SSL)" if your server is configured to send and receive encrypted messages. If you are unsure, contact the mail server administrator or your ISP.
4. Select "Check for new messages every ___minutes" and then specify the number of minutes between message checks. If you do not select this setting, you can check for new messages at any time by clicking Get Msg in the Mail window.
5. Select "Ask me before downloading more than ___ messages" to conserve disk space and download time, by setting a limit for the number of messages you can retrieve at one time.
Note: The path to the newsrc file is displayed for your information. The newsrc file stores information about the newsgroups to which you are subscribed, and the messages you have read in each newsgroup.

6. Click OK.

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## Choosing Settings for Copies and Folders

This section describes how to choose settings for sending automatic copies, and also to choose settings for storing copies of outgoing messages, message drafts, and message templates.

By default, Mozilla Mail stores copies of your outgoing messages in the Sent folder for the current account. Mozilla Mail also stores message drafts in the Drafts folder and message templates in the Templates folder for the current account. You can change these settings if you want.

If you are not already viewing the Copy and Folder settings, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Locate the account you want and click Copies and Folders. You see the Copy and Folder Settings section.
3. Select where to store copies of your outgoing mail and newsgroup messages. If you don't want to use the default Sent folder for the current account, click Other and then choose an account and then choose the folder for storing copies.
4. Select whether you want to send a blind carbon copy (bcc) to yourself or another addressee, and enter the address.
5. Select where to store message drafts. If you don't want to use the default Drafts folder for the current account, click Other and then choose another account and folder for storing drafts.
6. Select where to store message templates. If you don't want to use the default Templates folder for the current account, click Other and then choose another account and folder for storing templates.
7. If you want Mail to display a confirmation dialog box when you save a draft message or a template, check "Show confirmation dialog when saving messages." If checked, a dialog box will appear when you save a draft or template to remind you where Mozilla Mail is saving the draft or template.
8. Click OK to confirm your changes.

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## Choosing Offline and Disk Space Settings

You use the Offline and Disk Space settings to set up an account so that you can use it while offline (disconnected from the Internet). The settings available depend on the type of account. For more information, see:

- Setting Offline and Disk Space Preferences for an IMAP Account
- Setting Offline and Disk Space Preferences for a POP Account
- Setting Offline and Disk Space Preferences for a Newsgroup Account

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## Choosing Addressing Settings

You use Addressing settings to override the global LDAP server settings specified for all address books in the Preferences dialog box. LDAP server settings affect the behavior of address autocompletion, and you can change these settings for each account if necessary. Address autocompletion uses your address books to find matching entries when you type email addresses in the addressing area of the mail compose window. If you are not already viewing the Addressing settings, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Locate the account you want and click the Addressing category.
3. Choose one of the following settings:
   - Use my global LDAP server preferences for this account: This is the default. Choose this setting if you don't want to override the global LDAP server preferences for this account.
   - Use a different LDAP server: Choose this setting and then choose another LDAP server from the list if you want to use a different LDAP directory server for address autocompletion with this account.
4. If necessary, click Edit Directories to edit individual directory server settings, add a directory server, or delete a directory server. For more information, see Adding and Removing LDAP Directories.

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## Choosing Outgoing SMTP Server Settings

Even if you have multiple mail or news accounts, you generally need to specify only one outgoing (SMTP) server to handle the delivery of your outgoing mail. If you are not already viewing the Outgoing Server (SMTP) settings, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Select the Outgoing Server (SMTP) category.
3. Modify the following preferences:

- Server name: Mail uses the server name you entered using the New Account Wizard, but you can change it here.
- Use name and password: If your SMTP server requires authentication to send mail, select this option to be prompted to enter your user name and authentication password the first time you send mail. Then enter your user name. The first time you send mail, you will be prompted to enter your authentication password.
- Use secure connection (SSL): If your outgoing SMTP server is configured to send encrypted mail, you can choose how often you want to use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). If you are not sure which option to choose, check with your ISP or system administrator.
- Advanced: Click this option to set up additional SMTP servers. Keep in mind that using more than one SMTP server can cause errors in sending mail.

4. Click OK to confirm your changes.

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# Reading Messages

In this section: Getting New Messages Choosing How You View the Mail Window Sorting and Threading Messages Saving and Printing Messages

## Getting New Messages

When you start Mail, if your default account is an IMAP account, Mail automatically gets new messages and displays them in the Inbox (the primary message folder). For a POP account, you must click Get Msg to retrieve your messages. You can also set up Mail to get new messages at startup and to check for new messages at timed intervals.

The Mail icon on the status bar displays a green arrow to notify you when new messages have arrived.

| New mail notification

To set up Mail to automatically check for new messages:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Accounts.
2. If you have multiple accounts, select an account and click the Server Settings category for that account.
3. In the Server Settings section, select "Check for new mail at startup" if you want Mail to check this account automatically for new messages whenever you start Mail. For POP accounts, Mail doesn't download new messages until you click Get Msg or unless you choose "Automatically download any new messages".
4. Select "Check for new messages every ___" and then specify the number of minutes between mail checks. If you do not select this setting, you can check for new messages at any time by clicking Get Msg in the Mail window.
5. Click OK. Your settings take affect the next time you start Mozilla Mail.

You can always retrieve messages manually at any time. To get new messages for the selected account or newsgroup, do one of the following:

- Click Get Msg on the Mail window toolbar.
- Open the File menu (in the Mail window) and choose Get New Messages.

To get new messages for all your mail accounts:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Click the triangle on the Get Msg button in the Mail window toolbar. Or, open the File menu (in the Mail window) and choose Get New Messages for.
2. Choose Get All New Messages. Mozilla Mail retrieves new messages for all your mail accounts. If you are not currently logged into one of your mail accounts, Mail first prompts you to enter your user name and password before retrieving new messages for that account. (If you have already stored your user name and password using the Password Manager, Mail doesn't prompt you for this information.)

To get new messages for a specific mail account:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Click the triangle on the Get Msg button in the Mail window toolbar. Or, open the File menu (in the Mail window) and choose "Get New Messages for".
2. Choose the account for which you want to retrieve mail.

| Mail icon

Note: The first time you retrieve messages for an account, Mail asks you for your password, at which time you can choose to have Mail store your password in the Password Manager.

Password Manager can save all your user names and passwords on your own computer in a file that's difficult, but not impossible, for an intruder to read.

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## Choosing How You View the Mail Window

You can customize the layout of the Mail window (the window you see when you choose Mail from the Tasks menu):

- Open the View menu and choose Toolbars to show or hide the Mail toolbar or the status bar.
- Open the View menu and uncheck Sidebar to hide the Sidebar pane.
- Expand and collapse any pane to switch between a three-pane or two-pane view. Choose a default view in the Mail and Newsgroup Preferences panel. If you change the default view, you must exit Mail and then restart to have your change take effect.

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## Sorting and Threading Messages

To sort messages by categories such as subject, sender, date, or priority:

Begin from the Mail window.

- Click the appropriate label (column heading) in the message list window. Or, open the View menu, choose Sort, and then select the label you want to sort by.

To group messages by threading (subject), so each message is grouped with all its responses:

- Click the thread button to the left of the Subject, Sender, and Date column headings.

To help you identify unread messages in a collapsed thread where you've read the parent message, Mozilla Mail underlines the parent message.

| Thread button

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## Saving and Printing Messages

To save a message as a plain-text or HTML file:

1. In the Mail window, select the message.
2. Open the File menu and choose Save As, and then choose File.

To print a displayed message:

- Click Print.

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# Sending Messages

In this section: Composing Mail and Newsgroup Messages Using the Message Composition Window Addressing a Message Selecting Message Sending Options Replying to a Message Forwarding a Message Creating and Using Templates

## Composing Mail and Newsgroup Messages

To open a composition window to address, compose, and send a new message or reply to one:

- In any Mozilla window, open the File menu and choose New, then Message.
- In the Mail window, click New Msg.
- While displaying a message, click Reply, Forward, or Reply All on the Mail toolbar.
- From the Address Book window, select an address and click New Msg.

Tip: Use the Mail/News Account Settings command on the Edit menu to specify the HTML text editor for composing messages. In the Account Settings dialog box, select the account, and check "Compose messages in HTML format" to use the HTML text editor for all messages. If you want to use the plain-text editor occasionally, you can hold down the Shift key while clicking the New Msg or the Reply button to use the plain-text editor on an as-needed basis.

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## Using the Message Composition Window

Use the message composition window to address, compose, and send email and newsgroup messages. First specify whether you want to compose messages in plain-text or HTML in the Account Settings preference panel (Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings).

The message composition window contains the following:

- Toolbar.

You can click the following buttons:

- Send: To send a completed message.
- Address: To search for names in your address books.
- Attach: To attach a file to a message.
- Spell: To check spelling of your message text.
- Save: To save the message as a draft.

- Attachments field: When you attach files to a message, the file names are listed in the Attachments area to the right of the Addressing area.

If you've chosen to compose messages using the HTML editor, you see an additional toolbar with text formatting buttons similar to those in Mozilla Composer.

For help using the message composition window, see the Composer online help.

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## Addressing a Message

To address an email message:

1. Type the name in the address field.

If you have address autocompletion enabled (it's enabled by default), simply type the first few letters of the recipient's name and wait for Mail to complete the address. (Or you can type part of the name and immediately press Enter to have Mail try to complete the address.)

2. If multiple addresses are found, select an address and press Enter.

Note: Use a comma to separate multiple addresses on the same line. Do not use a comma to separate first or last names.

3. If you want this message to be sent from a different account, click "From" to select the account you want.
4. If necessary, click "To" to choose a different recipient type:

- To: For primary recipients of your message.
- Cc: For secondary recipients (carbon copy).
- Bcc: For secondary recipients not identified to the other recipients, including those in the cc list (blind carbon copy).
- Reply-To: For recipients to reply to a different email address than the one the message is sent from.
- Newsgroup: For posting to a newsgroup.
- Followup-To: For redirecting a newsgroup posting, so that subsequent replies go directly to the redirected newsgroup instead of the original newsgroup.

Tip: You can quickly address a message by right-clicking the email address contained in a message you're reading, and then selecting Send Mail To from the pop-up menu.

Changing the Account From Which a Message is Sent

If you have multiple mail accounts, the account listed in the From field is based on the account (or server) you have currently selected when you choose to create a new message. However, Mozilla Mail also allows you to change the account a message is sent from while you're composing a message. Click the From field to view a list of your accounts and then select the account you want. A copy of the message is saved in the Sent folder associated with the account you sent from.

About Address Autocompletion

Address autocompletion allows you to address mail easily from the message composition window without having to search for names or type complete names. Mail automatically checks your address books and an LDAP Directory Server (if available) and completes the name if it finds a unique match. It also prevents mistakes by showing all possible choices with additional information if it finds multiple matches. Address autocompletion is enabled by default.

If you don't want to use an address that Mail provides, simply press Backspace or Delete to erase the address and then enter an alternate address.

To disable address autocompletion:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, click Addressing.
3. In the Address Autocompletion section, remove the check next to Local Address Books and LDAP Directory Server.
4. Click OK.

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## Selecting Message Sending Options

While you're composing a message, you can select these additional message sending options from the Options menu:

Select Addresses

The Select Addresses option lets you choose the recipient's email address from your Address Books. Select an address and then click To:, Cc:, or Bcc: to address your message.

Check Spelling

Checks the spelling of the message text. You can also click Spell.

Rewrap

If you are composing a message using the plain-text editor, you can use the Rewrap command to rewrap long lines of quoted text to fit the composition window. This command rewraps selected quoted text to the window width, or rewraps all quoted text if no text is selected. This command is primarily useful when you are replying to a message where the original message is quoted in your reply, and the original message contains long lines.

You use the Mail/News Account Settings command on the Edit menu to specify that you want to use the plain-text editor for composing messages. In the Account Settings dialog box, select the account, and uncheck "Compose messages in HTML format" to use the plain-text editor for all messages. If you only want to use the plain-text editor occasionally, you can hold down the Shift key while clicking the Get Msg or the Reply button to use the plain-text editor on an as-needed basis.

Format

Send the message as plain text, or HTML (formatted), or both. If you choose "Auto-Detect," Mail asks you for the format to use if it's unknown whether the recipient's mail program can display an HTML message. The format you choose here overrides the send format you specified using the Preferences command on the Edit menu.

Priority

Choose a label or "flag" that indicates whether the message has lowest, low, normal, high, or highest priority.

File Sent Message

Choose this if you want to file an additional copy of the sent message in a different folder than your default Sent folder. Then select the folder you want.

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## Replying to a Message

To reply to an email message:

- Select the message.
- Click Reply to respond to the sender alone.
- Click Reply All to respond to all addressees in the message.

To include the original message each time you reply to any message:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, click Message Composition.
3. Select "Automatically quote the original message when replying."
4. Click OK.

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## Forwarding a Message

When you forward a message, you can specify how to place new text relative to the original text: inline (in the body of the message; this is the default), or as an attachment.

To forward a message:

1. Select the message and click Forward.
2. Type the name or Email address of the recipient.
3. Click Send.

To set the default for forwarding messages:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, click Message Composition.
3. Click OK.

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## Saving and Editing a Message Draft

To save an email message as a draft so you can complete it later:

- In the composition window, click Save, or open the File menu and choose Save as Draft. By default, the message is saved in the Drafts folder for the current account.

To edit a message draft:

1. From the Mail window, click the Drafts folder for the account where you created the message draft.
2. Click the message that you want to edit.
3. Tip: You can also double-click the message to open it for editing. This is especially useful if the message pane is closed.
4. In the top-right corner of the message, click Edit Draft. (Alternatively, from the Edit menu, choose Edit Draft.)
5. Edit the message as necessary.
6. Click Send to send the message or click Save to save the message so you can complete it later.

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## Creating and Using Templates

Templates are useful for formatting messages that you send regularly, such as weekly status reports. You can save a message as a template from any window in which it is displayed, including from within a message composition window.

To save a message as a template:

- While displaying a message: open the File menu, choose Save As, then Template. The template file is stored in the Templates folder.

To edit or use a template file:

1. In the Mail window, select the Templates folder.
2. Double-click the message you want to edit.
3. Edit the message, then save it or send it.

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# Creating HTML Mail Messages

In this section: Using HTML in Your Messages Choosing HTML Message Sending Options Specifying Recipients for HTML Messages Viewing the Message Source for HTML Messages Using the HTML Mail Question Dialog Box

## Using HTML in Your Messages

HTML messages can include formatted text, links, images, and tables, just like a web page. However, some recipients may not be able to receive HTML messages. Mozilla Mail allows you to compose mail and newsgroup messages using either the HTML (rich-text) formatting editor or the plain-text editor for each mail account you have. In addition, you can choose whether your addressees should receive HTML or plain-text messages by default, and how Mail should handle messages when it's not known if the addressee(s) can receive HTML formatted mail.

To specify whether to use the HTML editor as the default for composing messages:

1. Choose the mail or newsgroup account you want to use.
2. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
3. Select "Compose messages in HTML format." You see the HTML formatting toolbar in the message composition window. Leave this box unchecked to use the plain-text editor for this account.

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## Choosing HTML Mail Sending Options

You can choose the default method Mail uses to handle sending HTML messages when it's not known whether the recipient's email program can display formatted mail:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Choose Send Format from the Mail and Newsgroups category.

   Note: this preference applies only to email messages, not to newsgroup messages.

3. Select the option you want and then click OK.

If while composing a message you realize that one or more recipients may not be able to receive HTML-formatted mail, you can easily convert the message to a different format when you click Send:

1. In the message composition window, open the Options menu and choose Format.
2. Select the format you want to use for sending the message:
   - Auto Detect (Mail chooses the appropriate format)
   - Plain Text Only (may lose formatting such as bold text)
   - Rich Text (HTML) Only (some email programs may have trouble displaying the message)
   - Plain and Rich (HTML) Text (this uses more disk space)
3. When you've finished composing the message, click Send.

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## Specifying Recipients for HTML Messages

You can save time by indicating whether individuals in your address books prefer to receive either HTML messages or plain text messages.

1. Open the Address Book window and select the individual's card.
2. Click Edit to display the address book card dialog box.
3. In the Name tab, for "Prefers to receive messages formatted as", choose HTML if you know this recipient can read HTML-formatted messages (such as messages that include include links, images, or tables). If this recipient can only read messages sent as plain text (no formatting), then choose Plain Text. If you don't know or are not sure, choose Unknown. If you choose Unknown, Mozilla Mail determines the sending format based on the Send Format settings for Mail in the Preferences dialog box. If Mail still can't determine the correct format, Mail will ask you to choose a sending format when you send the message.
4. Click OK.

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## Viewing the Message Source for HTML Messages

You can quickly view the HTML and other code that generates an HTML message you've received:

1. Open the message.
2. Open the View menu and choose Message Source.

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## Using the HTML Mail Question Dialog Box

The HTML Mail Question dialog box appears when you try to send a message to someone who does not want to receive HTML messages or when Mail cannot determine whether your recipient can display HTML messages. If you are in doubt, send a plain-text message.

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# Using Attachments

In this section: Attaching a File or Web Page Viewing and Opening Attachments Saving Attachments

## Attaching a File or Web Page

To attach a file to an outgoing email message:

1. In the message composition window, click Attach or open the File menu and choose Attach File.

Tip: You can also click inside the Attachments area.

2. Select a file from your hard drive that you want to include and click Open. The file name appears in the Attachments area.

To attach a web page to an outgoing email message:

1. In the message composition window, open the File menu and choose Attach Web Page.
2. In the dialog box, enter the URL of the page and then click OK. The web page URL appears in the Attachments area.

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## Viewing and Opening Attachments

If you receive an email attachment that consists of a file type that Mozilla can display (such as graphic files and HTML files), you see the attachment displayed inline (in the body of the message). For other file types, Mail lets you open the attachment using another application, or else you can save the attachment on your hard disk.

To open the attachment, make sure you have a program on your computer that can open files of the same type as the attachment's file format. For exampe, if you want to open a .GIF file, make sure you have a program on your computer that can open .GIF files.

To open an attachment:

1. If there is more than one attachment, select the one you want from the right side of the message envelope. When you select the attachment, you see a menu.
2. Click Open.
3. In the Downloading dialog box, click "Use a different action for this file".
4. Click "Open with application."
5. Click Choose to locate the application to use to open the attachment.
6. Click OK. The attachment opens using the chosen application.

Note: If you are viewing your mail using an IMAP mail server, all attachments remain on the server until you save or open them.

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## Saving Attachments

To save an attachment:

1. In the right side of the message envelope, select the attachment that you want to save.
2. Choose Save As.
3. In the Downloading dialog box, click "Use a different action for this file".
4. Click "Save this file to Disk" and click OK.
5. Enter a file name and location for the attachment on your hard disk and then click OK. Mail downloads the attachment and saves it to the specified location.

Tip: To save all attachments, click the first one in the attachment list, and choose Save All. You can then specify the location where you want all the attachments to be saved.

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# Deleting Messages

In this section: Moving Messages to and from the Trash

How you delete messages depends on your mail server type: IMAP or POP3. Deleted POP3 messages are automatically moved to the Trash folder. IMAP users can set different options for deleting messages.

To delete IMAP messages from your Inbox or other folders:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. In the message list, select the messages and click Delete. By default, Mail moves the selected messages to the Trash folder.
2. To delete messages permanently, open the File menu and choose Compact Folders.

To set deletion preferences for IMAP messages:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Locate the IMAP account you want, and then click the Server Settings category under the account name.
3. Select the options you want for deleting messages and click OK.

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## Moving Messages To and From the Trash

If you use POP3 to deliver your mail, or if you set up IMAP to use the Trash folder, follow these steps to delete messages from your Inbox or other folders:

1. In the message list, select the messages you want to delete.
2. Click Delete. Mail moves the messages to the Trash folder.

To recover messages from the Trash:

1. Click the Trash folder.
2. Select the messages you want to recover, and drag them to another folder.

To delete messages permanently:

- Open the File menu and choose Empty Trash.

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# Using Address Books

In this section: About Mozilla Mail Address Books Adding Entries to Your Address Books Creating a New Address Book Creating a New Address Book Card Creating a Mailing List Editing a Mailing List Importing Address Books and Mail Messages

## About Mozilla Mail Address Books

Address books store email addresses and contact information for people you typically send email to, such as colleagues, friends, and family. Mozilla Mail provides you with two address books: the Personal Address Book, and the Collected Addresses Book, and you can create additional address books as well. The contents of these address books are stored locally on your hard disk. Your address book may also list email addresses from an LDAP directory, which is located on an LDAP Directory server. The Directory server stores email addresses of people that are not included in your locally-stored address books.

#### Personal Address Book

Use the Personal Address Book to add specific names you want, or to import address books from other email programs and previous versions of Netscape. You can create mailing lists, edit individual address entries, and create additional address books.

#### Collected Addresses

The Collected Addresses address book automatically collects the email addresses contained in incoming and outgoing messages. For incoming email messages, the Collected Addresses address book saves the sender's address in each message as soon as you open it. Addresses from outgoing messages are stored as soon as you click Send. You can choose which addresses you want to collect (only addresses from mail messages or addresses from both mail and newsgroup messages) by changing the preferences for email address collection.

#### LDAP Directory (if available)

An LDAP directory (also known as an address lookup service) stores email addresses of recipients who are not in your locally-stored address books. LDAP directories offer you access to large, centrally maintained databases of email addresses, which is especially useful with address autocompletion.

To enable automatic address collection:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, click Addressing.
3. Select Enable Email Address Collection to start collecting addresses.
4. Choose whether you want to use this feature for incoming or outgoing messages, or both.
5. Choose whether you want to use this feature for newsgroup messages.
6. Choose whether you want to limit the size of the collected address book. The default size is 700 cards. If you add a new card that exceeds the limit, the oldest card is removed and the new card is added, keeping the total number of cards the same.
7. Click OK.

#### Opening the Address Book Window

To open the Address Book window:

- Open the Tasks menu and choose Address Book, or click the Address Book icon on the status bar.

| Address Book icon

#### Changing the Address Book Window Display

To customize how the Address Book window and the cards are displayed:

- Open the Tasks menu and choose Address Book. You see the Address Book window.
- Open the View menu to select whether to display the toolbar and/or status bar.
- Open the View menu, choose Show Name As, and then select how you want card names displayed (first/last, last/first, or Display Name).
- Open the View menu, choose Sort, and then select a sort option (sort by Name, Email, Work Phone, or Organization).

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Adding Entries to Your Address Books

You can use any of the following ways to add entries to your address books:

- Click a name in the From or recipient fields (for example, To or Cc) in a message you've opened, and then select "Add Address to Address Book" from the pop-up menu.
- Click New Card in the Address Book window to create a new address book card.
- Open a message, which automatically adds the sender's address to your Collected Addresses Book (if enabled).

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## Creating a New Address Book

Mozilla Mail provides a default personal address book, but you can create additional address books.

To create a new address book:

1. Click the Address Book icon on the status bar or open the Tasks menu and choose Address Book.

| Address Book icon

2. In the Address Book window, open the File menu, choose New, and choose Address Book.
3. Type the name of the new address book, and click OK.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Creating a New Address Book Card

Address book cards can be used to store names, postal addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and information such as whether the addressee prefers to receive plain-text or HTML-formatted messages.

To create an address book card for an individual:

1. Click the Address Book icon on the status bar or open the Tasks menu and choose Address Book.
2. Click New Card. (If you have multiple address books, select the one to which you want to add a card.)
3. Each New Card dialog box has four tabs:
   - Name tab: Enter the following information:
     - First and Last (first and last name of person as you want it to appear in the address book).
     - Display name (the name that appears in the "To" field of the composition window)
     - Nickname (a shortcut or alias for the real name)
     - Email address (primary and additional address)
     - Prefers to receive messages formatted as: If you know this recipient can read HTML-formatted messages (such as messages that include include links, images, or tables), choose HTML. If this recipient can only read messages sent as plain text (no formatting), then choose Plain Text. If you don't know or are not sure, choose Unknown. If you choose Unknown, Mozilla Mail determines the sending format based on the Mail and Newsgroups Send Format settings in the Preferences dialog box. If Mail still can't determine the correct format, Mail will ask you to choose a sending format when you send the message.
     - Phones (enter phone number information for this person)
   - Address tab: Type additional information such as street address, phone number, and URL.
   - Other tab: Store any additional information you want.

To edit an individual card:

- Select the card in the Address List window and click Edit.

Tip: To quickly add entries to your address book, right-click any email address in messages you receive and select Add Address to Address Book from the pop-up menu. The New Card dialog box appears where you can complete the information.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Creating a Mailing List

If you regularly send messages to a group of recipients, you can quickly address a message by using a mailing list that contains the names you want.

To create a mailing list and add it to your address book:

1. In the Address Book window, click New List.
2. Enter the following information in the Mailing List dialog box:
   - Click the drop-down list at "Add to" to choose an address book in which to store the list.
   - List name: When you enter the list name in the "To" field of a message, everyone on the list receives your message.
   - List nickname: Alias (or shortcut) for the list name.
   - Description: Appears after the list name in the address line of the composition window.
3. Drag entries from the Address Book window into the list, or type in addresses.
4. Click OK.
5. The list appears in the left and right sides of the Address Book window.

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## Editing a Mailing List

Mailing lists are stored in the address book in which you created them.

To remove a member from the list:

1. Open the Address Book window.
2. Expand the address book containing your mailing list by clicking the small triangle beside the address book title.
3. Highlight the mailing list by clicking its name. The list members appear to the right of the mailing list name.
4. Click the entry you wish to delete.
5. Click the Delete button.

To add members to a mailing list:

1. In the Address Book window, in the list of address books, select the address book that contains the mailing list you want to edit.
2. In the right side of the window, locate the name of the mailing list and select it.
3. Click Edit.
4. Add or remove entries as necessary.
5. Click OK when you are done.

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## Importing Address Books and Mail Messages

If you have an address book from a previous version of Mozilla Communicator or another email program, you can add its entries to your personal address book. When you import another address book, Mail creates a new address book with the imported entries.

You can import address books and mail messages from Eudora, Outlook, and Outlook Express. You can import the following types of address book file formats: tab or comma separated text or LDIF. Mozilla Communicator address books use the LDIF format.

To export address book entries from Mozilla Communicator so you can import them into Mozilla:

1. In Mozilla Communicator, choose Address Book from the Communicator menu.
2. Select the address book that you want to export.
3. From the File menu in the Address Book window, choose Export.
4. Type a name for the exported address book.
5. Choose the LDIF file format.
6. Click Save. Remember the location where you saved the address book file, so you can find it when you're ready to import it into Mozilla. The file will have a .LDIF extension.

To import messages or address book files into Mozilla:

1. From the File menu in Mozilla, choose Import.
2. Follow the instructions to import mail folders and address book files.
3. If you want to import a Mozilla Communicator address book, choose "Text" from the list in the second screen of the wizard.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

# Organizing Your Messages

In this section: Creating a Folder Renaming a Folder Moving or Copying a Folder Filing Messages in Folders Creating Message Filters Searching Through Messages

## Creating a Folder

To create a message folder:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the File menu, choose New, and then Folder.
2. Type the name of the folder.
3. Click the pop-up menu to choose a folder location and click OK.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Renaming a Folder

To rename an existing folder:

1. Select the folder you want to rename.
2. Open the File menu and choose Rename Folder.
3. Type the new name and click OK.

Note: If you rename a folder that you've been using to store filtered messages, the filter will no longer work. You can either edit the filter to point to a different folder (or to the folder's new location if you've moved it), or else you can turn the filter off or delete it. You can also recreate the destination folder. If you recreate the destination folder, you must also turn the filter back on to activate filtering again. Until then, incoming messages that match the filter criteria will remain in your Inbox.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Moving or Copying a Folder

You can copy a folder and its contents to another mail account, or move a folder within the same mail account.

To move or copy a folder:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Select the folder you want to move or copy.
2. Do one of the following:
   - To move the folder under another folder within the same account, drag the folder over the name of the other folder. The folder you moved becomes a subfolder of the other folder.
   - To copy the folder to another account, drag the folder over the name of another account.
   - To copy the folder under another folder in another account, drag the folder over the name of another folder in another account. The folder you copied becomes a subfolder of the other folder.

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## Filing Messages in Folders

You can move messages from one folder to another by using either of these methods:

- Select the message, click the File button on the toolbar, and choose the destination folder.
- Drag and drop messages into the desired folder.

Note: If you drag and drop a message from an IMAP or POP mail server folder to a local folder on your hard drive, the message is moved to the local folder and removed from the server folder.

To copy a message from one folder to another:

1. Select the message and right-click to display the pop-up menu.
2. Select "Copy To" and then select the destination account and folder from the pop-up menu.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Creating Message Filters

Message filters allow you to manage and organize your messages. You can create message filters that Mozilla Mail uses to automatically perform certain actions on incoming messages based on criteria you specify. For example, you can create a message filter that automatically files incoming messages in a particular folder.

If you are not already viewing the Message Filters dialog box, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Message Filters.
2. If you have multiple mail accounts, choose the one to which you want to apply the filter.
3. Click New. You use the Filter Rules dialog box to specify the types of messages to act on, and the action you want the filter to perform.
4. Type a name for the filter.
5. Select the matching option you want Mail to use: "all of the following conditions" (criteria) you choose, or "at least one" of the conditions.
6. Use the pop-up menus to choose the search criteria (for example, "Subject," "Sender," "contains," "doesn't contain") and then type the text or phrase you want to match.
7. To restrict your filter to messages that only match a certain priority, choose an option for priority from the pop-up menu.
8. Click More to add criteria and Fewer to remove them.
9. Use the pop-up menu to choose the action you want the filter to perform on the messages (for example, Move to Folder).
10. Choose a destination folder in which to store the messages, or create a new folder.
11. Click OK to confirm your settings.
12. Use the Message Filters dialog box to manage your filters, as follows:

- To turn a filter on or off: Click the dot to the right of the filter name to enable it (diamond), or click it again to turn it off.
- To edit a filter: Select the filter name and click Edit (or double-click the filter name).
- To delete a filter: Select the filter name and click Delete.
- To change the order in which filters are applied: In the filter list, click a filter's name, and click the up or down arrow to move it.

Note: Filters are applied to each incoming message in the order you choose, until a filter action results in the message being deleted or moved to a different folder.

13. Click OK when you are done managing your filters. If you created a new filter, it begins filtering incoming messages as soon as you click OK.

Note: If you move, delete, or rename a folder that you've been using to store filtered messages, the filter will no longer work. You can either edit the filter to point to a different folder (or to the folder's new location if you've moved it), or else you can turn the filter off or delete it. You can also recreate the destination folder. If you recreate the destination folder, you must also turn the filter back on to activate filtering again. Until then, incoming messages that match the filter criteria will remain in your Inbox.

Tip: Filters don't apply to existing messages. If you have existing messages that you want to move to another folder, you can search for those messages and then file them into the other folder.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Searching Through Messages

Mozilla Mail lets you quickly find text in a single message, or use a combination of criteria to perform a thorough search through all messages in a specific mail folder, newsgroup, or account.

To locate text in a single message:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Select the message, open the Search menu, and choose Find in This Message.
2. Type the text that you want to locate.
3. Click Find to locate the first occurrence.
4. Continue clicking Find to locate additional occurrences, or click Cancel when you are done.
5. Choose Find Again from the Search menu to continue searching for the text throughout the rest of the message.

To search mail folders or newsgroups for specific messages:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the Search menu and choose Search Mail/News Messages.
2. Under Criteria, choose the account, newsgroup, or folder that you want to search. For a mail account, click "Search subfolders" to include all subfolders in the search.
3. Select the options to allow Mail to search for messages that match all or at least one of the conditions (criteria) that you choose.
4. Use the pop-up menus to indicate the search criteria (for example, "Subject," "Sender," "Contains," "Doesn't contain") and then type the text or phrase that you want to match.
5. To restrict your search to messages that only match a certain priority and status, choose options for priority and status from the pop-up menus.
6. Click More to add criteria and Fewer to remove them.
7. Click Search to begin, or click Clear to reset your entries. The search results appear under Results in the Search Messages dialog box. To open a message so you can read it, select the message and click Open, or double-click the message.
8. To sort the messages in a different order, click the column that you want to sort by.
9. To move or copy a message in the Results area to another folder, select the message and then choose the destination folder from the File pop-up menu. If the destination folder is within the same account, the message is moved to that folder. If the destination folder is within a different account, the message is copied to that folder.
10. Click Close when you are done.

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# Getting Started With Newsgroups

In this section: Subscribing to Newsgroups Reading Newsgroup Messages Posting Newsgroup Messages Contributing to Ongoing Discussions Monitoring Threads Removing a Newsgroup Adding a Newsgroup Server

## Subscribing to Newsgroups

If you have set up an account on a newsgroup server, you can join (subscribe) to newsgroups (also called discussion groups).

If you are not already viewing the Subscribe dialog box, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Open the File menu and choose Subscribe.
2. If necessary, click the Server pop-up menu to choose another server.
3. Select a newsgroup.
4. Click Subscribe or click in the Subscribe column next to the newsgroup. You see a check mark next to each newsgroup to which you subscribe. Click Unsubscribe to cancel a selection.
5. Click OK. The list of your subscribed newsgroups appears in the Mail window.

If you are an IMAP mail user, you can also subscribe to message folders located on an IMAP server. (Your Inbox is a type of message folder.) Follow the instructions above for subscribing, but select a Mail server from the Server pop-up menu.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Reading Newsgroup Messages

When you open your newsgroup server, you see the list of newsgroups to which you subscribe. The server downloads the headers of new messages in each newsgroup.

To read newsgroup messages:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Double-click a newsgroup server icon to see its newsgroups. (If there are no newsgroups, you may need to subscribe to one.)
2. Click a newsgroup name to see its messages.
3. Click a message to read it. Click the thread button to display all the responses below the original message. You can click any header to display its message. You can start a new thread or post a message in response.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Posting Newsgroup Messages

To start new threads (discussions):

1. From the list of your subscribed newsgroups in the Mail window, select a newsgroup.
2. Click New Msg.
3. Compose your message, and click Send to post it.
4. Click Get Msg to see your posting on the newsgroup.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Contributing to Ongoing Discussions

To post a response to the newsgroup:

1. In the message list, select a message to reply to.
2. Click Reply.
3. Compose your message, and click Send to post it.

To reply to an individual as well as post a response to the group:

1. In the message list, select a message to reply to.
2. Click Reply All.
3. Compose your message, and click Send to post it.

To redirect a posting to another newsgroup:

- Click Reply and choose "Followup-To" from the Recipient type pop-up menu. Subsequent responses will be posted to the newsgroup you specified.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Monitoring Threads

To monitor unread messages in threads that are of interest to you:

1. Select a message in a thread.
2. From the Message menu, choose Watch Thread.
3. If you want to monitor additional threads, repeat steps 1 and 2 for messages in additional threads.
4. When you're ready to monitor messages in these threads, from the View menu, choose Messages, and then choose Watched Threads with Unread. Mozilla Mail only displays the watched threads that contain unread messages.
5. From the View menu, choose Messages, and then choose All to return to viewing all messages in the newsgroup.

To ignore a message thread:

1. Select a message in the thread.
2. From the Message menu, choose Ignore Thread. Mozilla Mail marks all messages in the thread as read, and new replies posted to the thread will appear as read.
3. To view ignored threads, from the View menu, choose Messages, and then choose Ignored Threads.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Removing a Newsgroup

To remove a newsgroup from your list:

- Select the newsgroup icon and press Delete.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Adding a Newsgroup Server

If the newsgroup you want to subscribe to is on a different server, you must first set up access to that server.

To set up an additional newsgroup server, open the File menu in the Mail window and choose New, then Account.

- In the Account Wizard panel, indicate that the new account you want to set up is a newsgroup account.

Once you've set up access to the new server, you can subscribe to newsgroups on that server. In the Mail window, open the File menu and choose Subscribe.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

# Working Offline

In this section:

Setting Up Mozilla Mail to Work Offline

Downloading Your Inbox for Offline Use

Downloading an Individual Folder for Offline Use

Downloading Selected or Flagged Messages for Offline Use

Setting Up Your Accounts for Working Offline

Setting Offline and Disk Space Preferences for an IMAP Account

Setting Offline and Disk Space Preferences for a POP Account

Setting Offline and Disk Space Preferences for a Newsgroup Account

Selecting Accounts, Folders, and Newsgroups for Offline Viewing

Downloading and Synchronizing Your Messages

Working Offline and Reconnecting Later

## Setting Up Mozilla Mail to Work Offline

Mozilla Mail's offline feature lets you download your mail and read it offline (while disconnected from the Internet). If you use a dial-up (modem) connection to access your mail and you want to reduce the time you are connected, or, if you need to temporarily disconnect from your company's network while traveling or switching locations, you can download your mail so that you can read it offline. Mozilla Mail's offline feature can automatically downloatravellingd incoming messages and then later send all your outgoing messages when you reconnect.

If you occasionally want to work offline, Mozilla Mail lets you easily:

- download your Inbox for offline use
- download an individual folder for offline use
- download only selected or flagged messages for offline use

If you frequently work offline, Mozilla Mail also lets you:

- set up one or more of your accounts for offline use
- set offline and disk space preferences for each account
- select the items (accounts, folders, and newsgroups) that you want to view offline

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Downloading Your Inbox for Offline Use

Mozilla Mail can automate the offline process for your Inbox messages. You can tell Mozilla Mail to automatically download your Inbox messages for offline use. Later, when you go back online, Mozilla Mail automatically synchronizes your Inbox messages with the server.

To automatically download your Inbox for offline use:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. In the left side of the dialog box, select Offline and Disk Space under the account that contains the Inbox you want to download for offline use.
3. Check the box labelled "Make the messages in my Inbox available when I am working offline."
4. Click OK.
5. Click Get Msg or select the Inbox to start the download.
6. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Offline.

Mozilla Mail automatically downloads all messages in your Inbox so you can read and respond to them while working offline. After disconnecting, Mozilla Mail remains open so you can continue to work with your messages.

To reconnect to the Internet so you can work online:

- From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Online.

When you go back online, Mozilla Mail automatically synchronizes your Inbox messages with the server, by replicating any changes you made while working offline.

Tip: Mozilla Mail saves any messages that you send while working offline in the Unsent Messages folder under Local Folders. When you reconnect, choose Send Unsent Messages from the File menu to send all your saved messages at once. To have Mozilla Mail automatically send your unsent messages when you reconnect, use the Preferences command on the Edit menu to change your offline preferences.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Downloading an Individual Folder for Offline Use

To download a specific folder for offline use:

Begin from the Mail window:

1. In the left side of the Mail window, select the folder that you want to download for offline use.
2. From the Edit menu, choose Properties.
3. Click the Offline tab.
4. Check "Select this folder for offline use".
5. Click Download Now if you want to immediately begin downloading the folder's messages. Alternatively, you can continue working, and when you are ready to go offline, proceed to the next step.
6. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Offline.

Mozilla Mail automatically downloads all messages in the selected folder so you can read and respond to them while working offline. After disconnecting, Mozilla Mail remains open so you can continue to work with your messages.

Note: Message headers that have been downloaded for reading offline display a special offline indicator.

To reconnect to the Internet so you can work online:

1. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Online.
2. From the File menu, choose Download/Sync Now, and click OK.

Mozilla Mail automatically synchronizes the offline folders with the server, by replicating any changes you made while working offline.

Tip: Mozilla Mail saves any messages that you sent while working offline in the Unsent Messages folder under Local Folders. When you reconnect, choose Send Unsent Messages from the File menu to send all your saved messages at once. To have Mozilla Mail automatically send your unsent messages when you reconnect, use the Preferences command on the Edit menu to change your offline preferences.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Downloading Selected or Flagged Messages for Offline Use

To download selected messages for offline use:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Select a Mail or Newsgroup folder to display its messages.
2. Select the messages you want to download, as follows:
   - To select a group of adjacent messages, click the first message, and then Shift-click to select the last message in the group.
   - To select messages anywhere in the message list, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows and Linux) or the Command key (Macintosh) and click each message.
3. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Get Selected Messages. Mozilla Mail downloads the selected messages.
4. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Offline.

To download flagged messages for offline use:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. Select a Mail or Newsgroup folder to display its messages.
2. Click in the flag column of each message you want to download. A flag appears where you clicked to indicate that the message has been marked.
3. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Get Flagged Messages. Mozilla Mail downloads the flagged messages.
4. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Offline.

After you disconnect, Mozilla Mail remains open so you can continue to work with your messages.

Note: Message headers that have been downloaded for reading offline display a special offline indicator.

To reconnect to the Internet so you can work online:

- From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Online.

Tip: Mozilla Mail saves any messages that you sent while working offline in the Unsent Messages folder under Local Folders. When you reconnect, choose Send Unsent Messages from the File menu to send all your saved messages at once. To have Mozilla Mail automatically send your unsent messages when you reconnect, use the Preferences command on the Edit menu to change your offline preferences.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Setting Up Your Accounts for Working Offline

To set up one or more accounts for working offline, you use the Offline and Disk Space preferences in the Mail/News Account Settings dialog box. Once set, you don't need to change these preferences each time you want to work offline. The offline and disk space preferences you can set for an account depend on the type of account (IMAP, POP, or Newsgroup).

Here's a summary of the steps you will follow to set up your accounts for offline use:

1. For each account that you want to work with while offline, use the Mail/News Account Settings dialog box to set the Offline and Disk Space preferences for that account. You must select the items (accounts, folders, newsgroups) that you want to download for offline use. See Selecting Accounts, Folders, and Newsgroups for Offline Viewing for more information.

   Once set, you don't need to change these settings. See the sections below for information on setting offline and disk space preferences for IMAP, POP, and Newsgroup accounts.

   Tip: To set the Offline and Disk Space preferences for the current account, from the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Offline Settings.

2. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Download/Sync Now.
3. Choose the type of messages (mail or newsgroup or both) that you want to download.

   Important:You must select at least one category (Mail messages, Newsgroup messages) in order for the download to work.

4. In the Download/Sync Now dialog box, click OK to download the selected items. See Downloading and Synchronizing Your Messages for more information.
5. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Offline.

For subsequent offline sessions, you can skip step 1.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Setting Offline and Disk Space Preferences for an IMAP Account

This section describes how to set offline and disk space preferences for an IMAP account. If you are not already viewing the Offline and Disk Space preferences for an IMAP account, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Choose the Offline and Disk Space category for an IMAP account.
3. Click the Select button to select the items (accounts, folders, newsgroups) that you want to make available for offline use. See Selecting Accounts, Folders, and Newsgroups for Offline Viewing for more information.
4. Choose the settings you want, as follows:
   - When I create new folders, select them for offline: If checked, new folders you create are automatically selected for offline use. If not checked, new folders won't be automatically selected for offline use. You can manually select folders for offline use using the Download/Sync Now command (available from the File menu, under Offline) or by clicking the Select button, which is available in the Offline and Disk Space category for an account.
   - Do not download message bodies locally that are larger than: If checked, helps conserve disk space by preventing large messages from being downloaded. Enter the maximum size for downloaded messages.
5. Click OK.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Setting Offline and Disk Space Preferences for an POP Account

Messages from POP accounts are always downloaded to your local machine. This section describes how you can save disk space for a POP account. If you are not already viewing the Offline and Disk Space preferences for a POP account, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Choose the Offline and Disk Space category for a POP account.
3. Choose the settings you want, as follows:
   - Do not download message bodies locally that are larger than: If checked, helps conserve disk space by preventing large messages from being downloaded. Enter the maximum size for downloaded messages.
4. Click OK.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Setting Offline and Disk Space Preferences for a Newsgroup Account

If you are not already viewing the Offline and Disk Space preferences for a newsgroup account, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Choose the Offline and Disk Space category for a Newsgroup account.
3. Click the Select button to select the items (accounts, folders, newsgroups) that you want to make available for offline use. See Selecting Accounts, Folders, and Newsgroups for Offline Viewing for more information.
4. Choose the settings you want, as follows:
   - Do not download message bodies locally that are larger than: If checked, helps conserve disk space by preventing large messages from being downloaded. Enter the maximum size for downloaded messages.
   - Download only unread messages: If checked, downloads only messages you haven't yet read.
   - Download only messages since: If checked, downloads only messages that were posted within the time period you enter.
   - Click one of the three choices under "When it's time to clean up messages" to specify when newsgroup messages should be deleted. Unless you chose "Keep all messages," enter the number of days to keep messages or the number of newest messages to keep.
   - Keep only unread messages: If checked, messages are deleted immediately after you read them.
   - Remove messages only older than: If checked, helps conserve disk space by only retaining message subject lines for messages older than the number of days you enter. Enter the number of days to keep message bodies.
5. Click OK.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Selecting Accounts, Folders, and Newsgroups for Offline Viewing

Before you can read mail and newsgroup messages while offline, you must first select them for downloading. You can set up an entire account for offline use. You can also choose which folders and newsgroups that you want to use offline.

Note: Keep in mind that selecting more items may increase download time and disk space used.

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Mail/News Account Settings.
2. Choose the Offline and Disk Space category for the account you want to change.
3. Click the Select button. You see your accounts, mail folders, and subscribed newsgroups.

   Note: You see only the newsgroups and folders that you've already subscribed to.

4. Select the items (accounts, folders, newsgroups) that you want to make available for offline use.

   Note: POP accounts and local mail folders don't appear in the list. Your AOL account is not included in the list because working offline with your AOL account is not available.

5. Click OK.

Once set, you don't need to change these settings each time you want to go offline. However, if you do want to change them, you can easily do so before going offline, since the same Select button is available when using the Download and Sync command.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Downloading and Synchronizing Your Messages

If you have already selected accounts, mail folders, and newsgroups for offline use, you are now ready to download and synchronize them. If you haven't yet selected items to download, you can choose them before you go offline.

If you are not already viewing the Download/Sync Now dialog box, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Download/Sync Now.
2. Select the categories (mail messages, newsgroup messages) that you want to download.

   Important:You must select at least one category (Mail messages, Newsgroup messages) in order for the download to work. If the checkboxes are disabled, it means that you haven't yet selected items to download. Use the Select button to select items to download.

3. To send messages in your Unsent Messages folder before going offline, check "Send Unsent Messages".
4. To go offline immediately after Mozilla Mail finishes downloading, check "Work offline once download and/or sync is complete".
5. To set or change the items to download, click Select. See Selecting Accounts, Folders, and Newsgroups for Offline Viewing for more information. You can skip this step if you've already selected items for download.
6. Click Download and Sync. Mozilla Mail begins downloading the selected items.

If you chose to work offline once the download completes, then Mozilla Mail immediately switches to offline mode. Otherwise, when you are ready to go offline, from the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Offline.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Working Offline and Reconnecting Later

Begin from the Mail window.

When you are ready to work offline:

1. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Offline.

   Mail asks you if you want to download messages before going offline.

2. Click Download to download messages before going offline. If you want to work offline without downloading messages, click Don't Download.

Note: Message headers that have been downloaded for reading offline display a special offline indicator.

Tip: To set Mozilla Mail's download behavior when going offline, from the Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then choose the Offline category. You can choose to have Mozilla Mail ask you if you want to download messages when going offline, automatically download messages, or not download messages.

To reconnect and synchronize your messages:

1. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Work Online.
2. From the File menu, choose Offline, and then choose Download/Sync Now.

Mozilla Mail synchronizes your messages with the server by replicating any changes you made while working offline.

Tip: To set Mozilla Mail's behavior when going online, from the Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then choose the Offline category. You can choose to have Mozilla Mail ask you if you want to send unsent messages, automatically send unsent messages, or to not send unsent messages.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

# Setting Mail and Newsgroup Preferences that Apply to All Accounts

In this section: Setting General Mail and Newsgroup Preferences Setting Preferences for Displaying Messages Setting Preferences for Message Composition Setting Preferences for Formatting Messages Setting Preferences for Addressing Setting Preferences for Offline Mail and Disk Space

## Setting General Mail and Newsgroup Preferences

This section describes how to use the Mail and Newsgroups preferences panel set general preferences that apply to all accounts. If you are not already viewing these settings, follow these steps:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Click the Mail and Newsgroups category.

General Settings

1. Choose the type of three-pane layout to use for the Mail window. For your changes to take effect, you must exit Mail and restart it.
2. Choose "Confirm when moving folders to the Trash" so that Mail prompts you to confirm that you want to delete a folder.

Mail Start Page

The Start Page appears in your Inbox when you first open Mozilla Mail. Mail provides you with a default page, but you can enter a different web page or URL of your choice. To disable the Start Page, deselect this option. Click Restore Default to return to the original page provided by Mozilla.

When a new message arrives

If you want Mozilla Mail to play the default system sound whenever a new message arrives, check "Play a sound".

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Setting Preferences for Displaying Messages

This section describes how to set preferences for how messages are displayed (for example, font style and color) in all accounts. If you are not already viewing the Message Display settings, follow these steps:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, click Message Display.

Plain-Text Messages

- Choose the font you prefer for viewing plain-text messages: fixed width or variable width.

Choosing a font style for quoted plain-text messages can help you more easily distinguish quoted text (usually a message that's been forwarded to you or by you). To customize the display of quoted plain text:

- Click the Style pop-up menu and choose a font style.
- Click the Size pop-up menu and choose a font size.
- Click the Color button to select a text color.

- Select "Wrap text to fit window width" so that incoming messages are word-wrapped to fit the width of your mail window.
- Select "Display emoticons as graphics" so that when you receive messages that contain emoticons (also called smiley faces) Mail can convert them to graphics, for example:

  This: | Converts to:
  :-) |
  :) |
  :-( |
  :( |
  ;-) |
  ;-p |

Languages

Click the drop-down menu to select the character set coding (language) you want Mail to use as the default for incoming mail and newsgroup messages. This is recommended if it's likely you might receive messages in which the character set is not indicated, such as when reading messages in international newsgroups. To apply the default character coding to all messages, select "Apply default to all messages".

Tip: You can later view or change the character set coding (language) for a specific folder. In the Mail window, select a folder from the list of Mail folders. From the View menu, choose Folder Character Coding.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Setting Preferences for Message Composition

This section describes how to set preferences that affect how you create messages (for example, forwarding options and address autocompletion) in all accounts. If you are not already viewing the Message Composition settings, follow these steps:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroupgs category, select Message Composition.

Forwarding and replying to messages

Begin from the Message Composition section of the Preferences dialog box.

- Specify how you want forwarded message text to appear: as an attachment or inline (in the body of your message).
- Choose whether you want Mail to always include the original message text in your reply. Then select where you want to place your reply in the message area.

Composing Messages

Begin from the Message Composition section of the Preferences dialog box.

- Select "Check spelling before sending" to have Mail always check the spelling of your messages when you click Send.
- Choose to have Mail use "quoted printable" MIME encoding when sending regular messages that use an 8-bit character set (for example, Latin ISO88359).
- In the "Wrap plain text messages at __ characters" field, enter a number to set the margin for text in the message area.
- For Character Coding, select the character set coding (language) you want Mail to use as the default for outgoing mail and newsgroup messages.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Setting Preferences for Formatting Messages

If you regularly compose HTML (formatted) email messages, keep in mind that sometimes not all recipients use email programs that can display HTML formatting properly. Mozilla Mail lets you specify how you want to format messages that go to those recipients: convert them to plain text, format them only as HTML, or format them as both HTML and plain text. These preferences apply to all your mail accounts, but only to email messages and not to newsgroup messages.

Whenever you add a person or address card to your address book, you can specify whether that addressee can receive HTML-formatted messages. However, when this information is unknown, you can set general preferences for how Mail formats these messages.

If you are not already viewing the Send Format settings, follow these steps:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, click Send Format.
3. Choose one of the following options:
   - Ask me what to do (Mail prompts you to choose a format before you send the message)
   - Convert the message to plain text (may lose formatting such as bold text)
   - Send the message in HTML anyway (some email programs may have trouble displaying the message)
   - Send the message in both plain text and HTML (this uses more disk space)
   You can always override these settings for an individual message by using the Options menu in the message composition window.
4. Under HTML and Plain Text Domains, add the domain names that you typically send mail to, if you know which domains can display HTML-formatted mail messages, and which domains can only display plain text.

   For example, if you typically send mail to multiple recipients that have the same domain name (for example, your colleagues all have email addresses that end in "netscape.net"), and you know that this domain name is capable of displaying HTML messages, then you can add the netscape.net domain to the list of HTML Domains so that Mail will automatically send messages in HTML format to these recipients. Similarly, if you typically send mail to recipients at a domain that you know can only receive Plain Text messages, you can add that domain name to the list of Plain Text domains, so that Mail automatically sends messages to that domain in plain-text format.

5. Click OK.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Setting Preferences for Addressing

This section describes how to set preferences for Mozilla Mail's address books (for example, email address collection and address autocompletion). If you are not already viewing the Addressing settings, follow these steps:

1. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, select Addressing.

Email Address Collection

In addition to your Personal Address Book, Mozilla Mail provides you with a Collected Addresses Book that can automatically store email addresses from your incoming or outgoing messages, or both. For incoming email messages, Mail stores the addresses in each message as soon as you open it. Addresses from outgoing messages are stored as soon as you click Send.

1. Choose whether you want to use this feature for incoming or outgoing messages, or both.
2. Choose whether you want to use this feature when reading newsgroup messages.
3. Choose whether you want to limit the size of the collected address book. The default size is 700 cards. If you add a new card that exceeds the limit, the oldest card is removed and the new card is added, keeping the total number of cards the same.
4. Click OK.

Note: Your changes take effect the next time you start Mozilla.

Address Autocompletion

Address autocompletion allows you to quickly address mail without having to search for names or type names completely. Simply type a few characters, and Mail automatically checks your local address books and the LDAP Directory Server (if available) and completes the name if it finds a unique match. If multiple matches are found, Mail shows you a list of all possible choices.

1. Check Local Address Books to have Mail autocomplete email addresses by looking for matching entries in your Personal Address Book, Collected Addresses Book, and any other local address books you may have.
2. Check Directory Server and choose a directory server from the list to have Mail look for matching entries in an address book located on an LDAP Directory Server. A Directory Server lets you look up addresses that are not stored in one of your local address books. See Adding and Removing LDAP Directories for information on setting LDAP directory server settings.

   Note: Directory server settings you enter from the Preferences dialog box apply to all your mail accounts. You can override these settings for individual accounts by specifying different LDAP directory servers or server settings using the Addressing settings for an account in the Account Settings dialog box.

3. Check "Do not search in the directory" if you want a matching entry from your local address books to take precedence over a matching entry in an LDAP directory. If you uncheck this option, Mail shows you a list of all possible matches from your local address books and directory servers, so you can choose the one you want.
4. Click OK.

### Adding and Removing LDAP Directories

In general, you add or remove directory servers using instructions provided by your system administrator. Check with your system administrator for the information you will need in order to add a new directory server.

To add a new directory server:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, select Addressing.
3. Under Address Autocompletion on the right side of the dialog box, click Edit Directories.
4. In the LDAP Directory Servers dialog box, click Add.
5. Enter the following information in the Directory Server Properties dialog box:
   - Name: Enter the name of the directory service (for example, InfoSpace Directory).
   - Host Name: Enter the name of the server, such as ldap.infospace.com.
   - Base DN: Enter codes to restrict searching to a specific country or organization. For example, c=JP restricts the search to Japan only. Base DN also specifies the organization to search on within the directory (for instance, o=Mozilla Communications Corporation, c=US). Click Find to retrieve Base DN information from the server and display a list of available codes.
6. Click Advanced to configure LDAP directory server settings.
7. Enter the following in the Advanced Directory Server Properties dialog box:
   - Port Number: Enter the port number that the LDAP server is listening on. The default is 389.
   - Do not return more than: This setting lets you limit the number of autocompletion matches returned by the directory server. Enter the maximum number of email address matches to display for autocompletion.
   - Search Filter: Enter the search filter to apply to matching results that are within the specified scope of the search.
   - Scope: Defines the limits of the search. Choose one of the following:
     - One: Retrieves matching entries by searching the base DN and one level below the base DN.
     - Sub: Retrieves matching entries by searching the base DN in addition to all levels below the base DN. This is the least restrictive search.
8. Click OK to close the Advanced Directory Server Properties dialog box.
9. Click OK to close the Directory Server Properties dialog box.

To delete a directory server:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, select Addressing.
3. Under Address Autocompletion on the right side of the dialog box, click Edit Directories.
4. In the LDAP Directory Servers dialog box, select the directory that you want to delete and click Delete.
5. Click OK, then click OK again to close the Preferences dialog box.

### Editing LDAP Directory Server Settings

To edit the settings for a directory server:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Under the Mail and Newsgroups category, select Addressing.
3. Under Address Autocompletion on the right side of the dialog box, click Edit Directories.
4. In the LDAP Directory Servers dialog box, select the directory server that you want to edit, and click Edit.
5. Edit the settings by following the instructions under Adding and Removing LDAP Directories.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

## Setting Preferences for Offline Mail and Disk Space

This section describes how to set preferences for startup mode, working offline, going online, and disk space. If you are not already viewing the Offline settings, follow these steps:

Begin from the Mail window.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Select the Offline and Disk Space category.
3. Choose whether you want Mozilla Mail to remember the state (offline or online) in which you last exited the program, or if you want to be asked which mode to start in each time you start the program.
4. When going online, choose how you want Mozilla Mail to handle messages in your Unsent Messages folder.
5. When going offline, choose how you want Mozilla Mail to download messages.
6. Compact folders when it will save over: If checked, helps conserve disk space by automatically compacting message folders when it will save the amount of disk space you enter.
7. Click OK.

See Working Offline for information on working offline.

[ Return to beginning of section ]

20 June, 2001

Copyright © 1998-2001 The Mozilla Organization.