DMailWeb User's Manual

DMailWeb is a web-email gateway which allows you to read and process your new email from a web browser running on any machine with access to the internet (or your intranet ). It provides facilities to read new mail, send and forward messages, send and view attachments, etc. You can also delete the new messages once you have processed them or leave them on the server for later downloading with a normal email client package.

Briefly . . .

To use DMailWeb, point your World Wide Web browser at the appropriate URL such as:

http://nice.co.nz/cgi-bin/dmailweb.exe

Then enter your Username and Password to login and process your new mail.It's that simple but for more details read on...

Manual Contents:

For quickly getting started...

1. Instant Connection?!
2. How do I login ?
3. How do I check and send mail ?

For more details...

4. DMailWeb Overview
5. The Login Page
6. The Mail List Page
7. The Send a Message Page
8. The Read a Message Page
9. The Forward Messages Page
10. The User Configuration Page
11. The Edit Pick List Page
12. Synchronizing Your Email POP Account
13. Technical Details
14. The NetWin Glossary

Notes on using these manual pages:

This User Manual guides you through the various pages of DMailWeb, noting the functions of all of the Buttons, Links*, Check Boxes and Text Fields that you will find on them. In addition to normal links to related information there are glossary definitions for many of the technical terms and acronyms. These links to glossary defintions are shown thus server*

New users in particular should find these links to the NetWin Glossary helpful.

For the experts who are just skimming, red text will generally contain interesting tips on getting the most out of DMailWeb. Also, see the Technical Details section.

If you are new to DMailWeb then still read the parts in red text but don't worry if you don't understand them immediately.

1: How can I get my MAIL ?!

Here is the instant three step guide...  

For more detailed information please read through the next few sections.

2: How do I login ?

You must login to DMailWeb so that you can access your mail.

To login to DMailWeb you must first supply a username and password. This username and password is for the POP server you collect your email from, DMailWeb will be connecting to this POP server on your behalf. Your username and password will have normally been assigned to you when you were given an email account by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or Computer Department. The same username and password will also be used when you are sending email messages and DMailWeb connects to an SMTP server on your behalf.

The Email Administrator will have assigned a default POP and also a default SMTP server for use with DMailWeb. So, as a user as long as you use the correct URL* in your web browser then you'll automatically log in to the right email system.

There may be a number of other options provided on the login page. These are briefly described below:

3: How do I check and send mail ?

Once you have logged in to DMailWeb correctly, you will be presented with your New Mail List. This is a list of new mail messages for you on the pop server. DMailWeb allows you to read these messages but does not delete them from the POP server unless you tell it to delete them or to forward and delete them.

This list of new mail is updated when you first connect to DMailWeb. If you return to this page later and want to check if any new mail has arrived, just click on the Check New Mail button to update the list.

To send a message click on the Send Message button from this page. Then, fill in the various fields and then click the Send Now button.

4: DMailWeb Overview

DMailWeb is a web-email gateway. It is brought to you by NetWin Ltd and your Internet Service Provider. It allows you to read and process your new email from a web browser on any machine with access to the internet (or your intranet).

DMailWeb works by reading your new mail from your email server* but leaving it there for later access from your normal email client.

You can read, forward or reply to new messages, send new messages etc. all from DMailWeb's different web pages.

Once you have checked the messages and performed any other tasks, you can delete them from your server using DMailWeb's delete or forward and delete buttons. If you do not delete the messages then DMailWeb will leave them on the server* for later downloading with a normal email client package.

DMailWeb is organised as a collection of pages based around the New Mail List page. From that page you can see the messages that you have and the various buttons and links that provide you with ways of processing them.

This User Manual guides you through the various pages of DMailWeb, noting the functions of all of the Buttons, Links*, Check Boxes and Text Fields that you will find on there.

At the bottom of most of DMailWeb's pages you will find a small hyper link* showing what version of DMailWeb you are using. (so that you can compare with your friends !) If you wish to visit Netwin's home page then you can also click on that link.

5: The Login Page

This is the page that you arrive at after entering the URL for DMailWeb into your browser. You will also reach this page if you request to login again after having logged out.

Enter your Username* and Password in the appropriate fields. Then click on the Login Now button. You can use the tab key to move from one field to the next. Most browsers will Login Now if you press enter.

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or Computer Department should have told you which username to use and hopefully which password too. If they haven't you'll need to contact them before proceeding. If you haven't been given a special username and password for DMailWeb then your normal email client username and password should work.

The rest of the Login Page has ...

some general help information for users

and clickable links to:

• this set of user guide pages
• information on other NetWin products
• the software registration page.

The registration page is only for system administrators, so as a user you don't need to worry about this. Have a look at it if you are curious, but remember what happened to the cat!

6: The New Mail List Page 

This is the center of the DMailWeb system. It provides a list of new mail messages and buttons to let you access all the other facilities provided by DMailWeb.

6.1 The Check New Mail button

Clicking this button forces your browser to check the email server* for new mail messages. The Mail List then displays all of the messages that were on your email sever at that point in time.

See the Synchronizing Your Email POP Account section for information on the subtleties of using DMailWeb in conjunction with a normal email client package.

If you are moving around a lot in the various pages of DMailWeb then it is a good idea to periodically click this button to make sure that you are looking at an up to date list of new messages.  

6.2 The Send Message button

Takes you to the Send a Message page, where you can compose a new message and then send it.

6.3 The Parts of the Mail List

Each message read from the email server has one full line on the Mail List containing entries for:

Subject-Read:

This section of the list shows an abbreviated form of the Subject: line of the email message, so that you can hopefully get an idea of what the message is about. It is a hyper link* to the Read a Message page, that when clicked will show you the contents of that particular message. The link for each message should change color if you read that particular message ( if it doesn't then your browser settings are telling it not to) indicating when a message has been read.

It may also display some small icons at the start of each line which indicate whether the message has been read or forwarded or has an attachment.

From:

Shows the From: line for the particular email. The From: line is a standard part of any email message which usually indicates who sent the message.

Forward:

This is a hyper link that initiates the forwarding of that particular message. It moves you to the Forward Messages page with that message selected. Like other hyper links it will normally change color if you have clicked on it before, in this case indicating that you have already forwarded this message.

Select:

This column allows you to select one or more messages so that a group operation can be carried out on them. An example is selecting three messages for deleting, while leaving the rest alone. Once selected, the operation you perform on the selected messages is started by clicking on one of the buttons at the bottom of the list. Note; there is a Select all displayed messages check box at the bottom of the page.

Date and Time:

These two columns show the date and time that were stamped onto the email by the sender's machine when it was sent. This is usually the real time that the message was sent.

6.4 The Select all displayed messages check box

This check box toggles the selection and de-selection of all of the messages in the Mail List. It indicates this by placing or removing check marks in all of the individual messages' select boxes. You can use this to delete or forward all the new mail messages in one step. 

6.5 The Del Sel Items button - Delete Selected Items

This button will try to delete all of the messages that you have selected with a check mark. Note; both the DMailWeb copy AND the copy on the POP* server are deleted. DMailWeb will notify you if it fails with either part of the delete operation. It will display an error message that gives a probable reason for the error. For example if someone else has deleted the copy on the POP server it will tell you.

After deleting the messages DMailWeb returns you to the new mail list page.

6.6 The Fwd Sel Items button - Forward Selected Items

This button initiates the forwarding of all the messages that you have selected with a check mark. It takes you to the Forward Messages page where you can enter the forward address and then send them. If you have selected multiple items they will all be forwarded to this address.

6.7 The User Config button - User Configuration

This button simply takes you to the User Configuration page where you can edit your own user settings for DMailWeb. Make sure you press the Save Config button to save the changes you have made.

6.8 The Pick List button

This button when clicked takes you to the Edit Pick List page where you can manage your list of recently used addresses. You can add, delete and modify addresses on the pick list just by editing text box. Note; if you enter a invalid email address it will not appear on the pick list. 

6.9 The Logout button

The logout button takes you to the DMailWeb - Logged Out page which presents you with a link which you can click if you want to login again.

If it doesn't take you to this page then you probably haven't been logged out properly. You will also not be logged out properly if you exit your mail lists by closing your browser or by pointing it at a different URL*. This normally does not matter as DMailWeb will tidy up next time you connect. However, if you are using someone else's machine and browser to check your email you should make sure you logout properly before leaving.

To send a message...

Click on the Send Message button from your New Mail List page to bring you to the Send a Message page.

Then, fill in the various fields and then click the Send Now button.

7.1 To: Field

This field is for entering the address of the recipient of the piece of email you are about to send. Mostly this will be a full email address, such as bobsmith@fredsco.com. However if you know that your email is only going locally then you may just be able to use the recipient's first or unique name e.g. Fred or JSmith, ask your system administrator if this is possible. Try hitting them with a question like "Does our SMTP server currently support email aliases and local address lookup ?" :-)

Remember to make use of your Pick List.

7.2 The Pick List - how to use it.

The Pick List is there to allow quick access to addresses that you have used recently. It stores each address that you use automatically if it doesn't already have it on its list, a maximum of 30 addresses are stored at any one time. The Edit Pick List page contains a check box to enable/disable the automatic adding of addresses to the Pick List.

Simply select the field that you wish to paste the address into, by clicking onto either the text space itself or the selected mark beside it, and then click on the address or addresses that you wish to paste. Each new address you add is placed at the beginning of the line with a coma separator so you can see the most recently added address.

Clicking the Clear button removes everything from the selected field. You can also select the (none) option if you wish the selected field to be cleared.

Note that if you click the same address more than once in a row it will only be pasted once. However if you click the same address again after another address then it will appear twice in the field's entry, in the case of the To: field that recipient will then receive the email twice.

You can edit your Pick List manually by entering the Edit Pick List page, to get there click on the Pick List button from the Mail List page.

Helpful Hint: If you jumped here from some other section you may wish to click on your browser's button to go back to where you came from!

7.3 CC: Field - Carbon Copy List

This text box is provided for you to enter the addresses of other people who are to receive a copy of the email message that you are writing. The Carbon Copy list can be thought of as a list of other addresses to circulate the email to. People who receive a message, because they were on the carbon copy list, should infer that they have been sent a copy of a message originally sent to someone else. This is a useful feature for keeping third parties up to date and in touch with the messages that you send.

Often such a message will appear on the recipient's email package with a note to indicate that they were on the Carbon Copy list. This is because the To: field will show the address of the person you sent the message to and not the recipient's address.

Here is an example email header and message from a carbon copy mail message received by Bob which was sent originally to George by Tim:

Received: from nice.co.nz by bigpc ; 26 Mar 98 00:41:45 GMT
From: tim@nice.co.nz                                    - Message sent by Tim
Reply-to: tim@nice.co.nz
To: george@nice.co.nz                                   - Message originally sent to George
Cc: bob@nice.co.nz                                      - Bob to receive a copy
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 98 12:41:45 +1200
Subject: your holidays

Your holidays are to be extended by one week over Christmas.

regards
Tim

7.4 BCC: Field -

This allows you to enter an address or list of addresses for blind carbon copies. Blind means that the main recipient of the message will not know that you have sent carbon copies. So if John wants to send a message to Mary with a copy to Bill but doesn't want Mary to be informed that a copy was sent to Bill he would put Bill in the BCC field rather than the CC field.

7.5 Reply-To: Field

This field is provided for you to specify a special return address. Normally when the recipient sends a reply it will come to you (i.e. the person the message was from). However sometimes you might want a reply to go to someone else or another email address you use more often - in this case you must fill in the reply to field.

The address that you provide here will be used by the recipient's email program for sending an email back to you. Example, if your friend Bob receives an email from you on his email program and then wants to reply to it he clicks on the reply button of his program. His program then pastes the address you have given here into the To: field of a new email message that he must write. In this way whatever he writes in his email message will be sent to this address. Note, if you haven't put the correct address in this field then the message Bob writes in reply to your message might not get back to you. You only need to fill in a reply to field.

You'll notice that when you come to the Send a Message page your default reply address will already be filled in. If it's not what you want it to be then change it in the same way as any of the other address fields, i.e. by typing a new one in, or by selecting the check mark for this field and choosing an address from the Pick List.

You should put the email address in this field on which it is most likely for a reply to get through to you, e.g. if you use another account more often, that is, check it more regularly then that is probably a good address to put in here.

What if I have nothing in here? It won't really matter as return email will probably be sent to the From: address on your email and in most cases this is probably the one that you want.

7.6 The Attach: Field - Attachments

This field is for you to type in the full path to any files that you would like to send as an attachment. Attachment is the term for a file that is sent to the receiver of your message along with your email. The receiver can save the file when it arrives and then use it as if they had created it themselves.

When you send the message a copy of any files listed in the Attachment field will be transmitted with your email to the receiver of your message. Remember that big files ( bigger than a Mbyte as a rough guide) might take a long time to be sent or might not be sent at all. They might even clog up someone else's email system!

To help you find the file that you want to send quickly you can click on the Browse... button. This will open a Find File or Upload File window in your web browser from which you can look around your machine or network to find the file you are after. If the Browse button does not appear next to the Attach field it is probably because the browser you are using does not support this feature - you might need to upgrade your browser if this is the case. Once you have selected the file, its full path ( where to find it on your machine) will be pasted into the Attach: field, so that it can be sent when you click send.

7.7 The Subject: Field

This field is provided for you to enter the subject of your message. This entry is normally what is displayed by most email programs on their New Mail Lists so that the user can see what the message is about.

A good tip . . .

Make your subject messages short and concise. Often there isn't much room for it to be displayed in a mail list and so your subject message will be cropped to fit the space.

7.8 The Message Body Field - "Please enter your message text here: "

This big field is where you finally get to type your important message. You can press the enter or return key at the end of each line or just let the browser wrap the lines as you type them. Note that this wrapping is only a soft wrap, i.e. the lines will be sent as one long line. However, unless your system administrator has changed the default behaviour DMailWeb will wrap all lines at 75 before sending your message.

Once again remember the recipient may read the messsage in a small window. Long lines may not fit without scrolling sideways, which they may not notice or bother to do unless your message is really interesting.

7.9 The Add Signature Check Box

This check box enables and disables the automatic signature feature. This feature if enabled will add your personalized signature, e.g. full name and contact details, to the message before it is sent.

You can edit the content of your personalized signature on the User Configuration page.

To get to this page, i.e. to read a message, simply click on the subject of the message that you want to read in any mail list. Each subject line has been made into a clickable link, which takes you to the Read a Message page for that particular message.

At the top of the page (and also at the bottom) are Helpful Links to other pages, e.g. the New Mail List page, there functions are detailed below.

The main portion of this page simply contains the message. The first few lines, known as the 'Header Lines', give information on the message, such as who it was addressed to, who it was from, time sent, etc. The Header Lines are then followed by the body of the message, usually the part that you're actually interested in.

At the bottom of the page are a number of View Style options which you can set to get the look or information that you require.

Clicking the Set View Style button reloads the current message according to the style options set by the check boxes.

Clicking the Delete button makes DMailWeb delete the message you are viewing, both its own copy and the copy on your POP* server.

Clicking the Save Address button takes you to the Edit Pick List page where the from address of the message will be pasted into the pick list. Remember to click on the Save Changes button before leaving that page.  

8.1 The Set View Style Check Boxes

The View Headers Check Box:

Select this box if you wish the full header information that came with the message to be displayed.

The Variable Width Font Check Box:

 Toggles whether the message will be displayed in a proportional or non proportional font. This is usually only relevant if the message contains tab delimited lists or tables, in which case the columns may not line up if displayed in the wrong sort of font.

The Inline Images Check Box:

 Toggles whether images contained in the message should be displayed or just shown as links.

The View as HTML Check Box:

 Toggles whether to display html as source text or normal graphical mode. 

8.2 The Helpful Links on the Read a Message Page

The Next Message Link (not displayed if not available)

Clicking on this link reloads the Read a Message page with the next message on the New Message List.

The Prev Message Link (not displayed if not available)

Clicking on this link reloads the Read a Message page with the previous message on the New Message List.

The List New Mail Link

Clicking on this link returns you to the New Mail List page. Remember to click on Check New Mail if you need to update the list.

The Reply Link

This link takes you to the Send a Message page while automatically inserting the sender's address into the To: field. The body of the message being read will also be pasted into the new message's body in a commented out form, i.e. with '>' marks at the start of each line.

The Reply-All Link

This link is as per the simple Reply link, but the reply that you write is sent to all of the addresses on the original message's To: and CC: fields. See the Send a Message page for more detail on these pages.

The Forward Link

Clicking on this link loads the Forward Messages page so that you can type in the address of the person to be sent the message, before it is forwarded to them.

The Forward Messages page allows you to forward or send on a message that you have received to someone else.

You arrive at the page by clicking on a forward message link on one of DMailWeb's pages or by clicking on the Fwd Sel Items button from the Mail List page.

The top line of the page displays the number of messages that will be forwarded.

9.1 The Forward Fields

The various fields are provided for you to type in the addresses of recipients for the message or messages being forwarded.

For example:

Entering 'bobs@nice.co.nz' in the To: field to give

To: bobs@nice.co.nz

will mean that the message will be forwarded to Bob at the Nice Company once you click on the send button.

You can also add in a short forwarding message in the Subject: field, e.g. "Hey Bob, have a look at what this guy wrote!". Remember to make use of the Pick List. See the Send a Message page above for more detailed information on the address fields and Pick List.

9.2 The Send Buttons

Once you have entered where the message is going to, you can send the message by clicking on one of the Send or Send And Delete buttons.

The Send button will simply send the message or messages to the address given leaving the original of the message on your POP* server.

The Send And Delete button sends the message also, but it then deletes the message from your POP* server. It will only delete the message if it is sent successfully. Note that deleting a message from the POP* server means that you that you can't get it again.

Clicking on User Config in the Mail List page brings you to this page.

The User Configuration page allows you to set various options for DMailWeb and the way it handles your mail. The changes are then saved by clicking on the Save Config button.

10.1 User Configuration Fields

The Your Name Field:

This field allows you to enter a personal name or your full name. The name that you enter here will be added to your email address before any messages are sent. Adding your name in this way makes it clear to the receivers of your messages exactly who has sent them.

Example:

If your email address was bobs@nice.co.nz you might add a real name of Bob Smithers in DMailWeb's Your Name user setting. Anyone who then received an email from you would see this in there From: field.

From: <Bob Smithers> bobs@nice.co.nz

Adding a real name does not affect where a message is sent to, as email packages ignore that part of the address for delivery purposes.

The Default Reply Address Field:

The address entered in this field will appear on any messages that you send out as the reply address that email programs should use by default. DMailWeb automatically inserts your email address for the account that you are using here. You can change it to any valid address that you would like your return mail sent to.

The Auto Refresh Newmail Screen Field:

This field takes a time in seconds. The number entered determines how often DMailWeb should automatically click the Check New Mail button for you. Clicking the Check New Mail button forces DMailWeb to check your POP* server for any mail and display what it finds there on your Mail List.

The Signature File Field:

This field is provided for you to type in one or more lines of an email closing signature.

Example Signature File:

----------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Smithers
Nice Co Ltd
Ph: 64 9 4567823
email: bobs@nice.co.nz
----------------------------------------------------------------

This Signature File will be added to the end of every message that you send out, provided that you have the Add Signature check box checked on the mail writing page that you are on, e.g. Check the Add Signature check box on the Send a Message page if you wish the Signature File to be added to the email that you are writing from that page.

Remember to click on the Save Config button to save your user settings before leaving the User Config page.

See The Pick List - how to use it for notes on how to make use of your Pick List when sending messages etc.

The Pick List stores the last 30 addresses used or saved to it so that you can conveniently paste email addresses from it into the address fields of messages that you want to send.

You get to the Edit Pick List page by clicking on the Pick List button on the Mail List page or by clicking on the Save Address button on the Read a Message page.

Once there, enter any new addresses in to the Pick List Addresses field then click on the Save Changes button. Note that if you reached the page by clicking on the Save Address button, then the From: address of the message will have been automatically pasted in.

You should throw out unwanted Pick List entries from time to time to save your favorites from getting displaced by recently used, not so favorite ones. Remember that the Pick List stores a maximum of 30 addresses.

11.1 The Pick List Addresses Field

The Pick List Address field shows all of the current addresses in the Pick List. You can type or paste new ones into it and DMailWeb can automatically add to it as well. See the Add Addresses Automatically section below.

11.2 The Save Changes button

This button saves the Pick List as it appears in the the Pick List Addresses field. By doing so it saves any changes that you or DMailWeb have made.

11.3 The Add Addresses Automatically Check Box

The Add Addresses Automatically check box enables/disables the automatic adding of addresses to the Pick List whenever you send mail to an address not already on the Pick List.

11.4 Address Books:

CWMail/DMailWeb supports both private and shared address books and a pick list of recently used email addresses. The pick list also now shows the first part of the users first address book. The address books themselves are simple text files with one substituion per line. This allows you to store in an address book a friends name and email address to save having to remember  that john gets his email at JohnSmith@the.greatest.isp   The following are example address book entries:

bill=bill@sitcom.co

john=MrJohn@vet.doc.uk

friends=bill@whatsit,john@the.uni,dad@home

When processing to, cc and bcc lines the translations are made. For each entry in a to line which does not contain an @ symbol the following sequence of searches are performed.

1. Search each of the users private address books for a match (ie those in addr_books)
2. Search each of the public address books this user has entered in gadd_books
3. Just add the local domain on

The search stops on the first match. So if bill is found in my own address book it takes preference. If no entry is found in any address book then the name is assumed to be for a local user and @localdomain  is added to the entry.

Public address books are just normal user address books but with the prefix public_

So if user john@netwin.co want to share his home address book with pete he just stores it with the name public_home and then Pete can make an entry in his pick list page: john@netwin.co/public_home

The system administrator may give everyone access to a company address book  say public_company and will then add to your list of group address books something like:

gaddr_books admin@my.company.co/public_company

12: Synchronizing Your Email POP Account

DMailWeb has been designed to complement your existing email client. Therefore it leaves any mail that it reads on your email POP server unless you specifically ask it to delete a particular message.

Because of this you should always keep the following things in the back of your mind when using DMailWeb . . .

1. DMailWeb does not save your mail messages anywhere. They are either on your POP* server or they do not exist i.e. you have asked for them to be deleted.
2. The Mail List displays only those messages that were on your email server the last time DMailWeb checked your mail. Refreshing the Mail List, i.e. checking for mail, happens either when the Check New Mail button is clicked or when an auto check is run ( see the User Configuration page ).
3. You probably cannot access your email account with both DMailWeb and your normal email client at the same instant in time (so if you share an account then you'll have to play like nice kids and take it in turns).
4. Your normal email client may indicate that your mail messages have already been read, if indeed you have read them earlier from a Web page with DMailWeb. Although DMailWeb can be set to hide the fact that it has read messages.
5. When using another email client with DMailWeb you should normally set it to read all messages it has not seen before not just the unread or last ones.

13: Technical Details

1. The Email Administrator assigns a default POP and also a default SMTP server for use with DMailWeb. So users don't have to select one in order to log in to the correct email server.
   
2. The Pick List stores a maximum of 30 addresses. So you should throw out unwanted ones from time to time to save your favorite addresses from getting displaced by recently used, not so favorite ones. The Edit Pick List page contains a check box to enable/disable the automatic adding of addresses to the Pick List.
   
3. The first few lines of any email, known as the 'Header Lines', give information on the message, such as who it was addressed to, who it was from, time sent, etc. The Header Lines are then followed by the 'body' of the message, usually the part that you're actually interested in.
   
4. DMailWeb does not save your mail messages anywhere. It only holds a temporary cache of messages. So long term messages are either on your POP* server or they do not exist i.e. you have asked for them to be deleted.
   
5. The Mail List displays only those messages that were on your email server the last time DMailWeb checked your mail. Refreshing the Mail List, i.e. checking for mail, happens either when you login or click the Check New Mail button or when an auto check is run (see the User Configuration page ).
   
6. You usually cannot access your email account with both DMailWeb and your normal email client at the same instant (so if you share an email account with someone else then you'll have to play like nice kids and take it in turns to connect).
   
7. Your normal email client may indicate that your mail messages have already been read, if indeed you have read them earlier from a Web page with DMailWeb. Note DMailWeb can be set to hide the fact that it has read messages so your normal client will not mark them as read.