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Using E-mail

E-mail (short for electronic mail) is one of the most popular uses of the Internet. Through e-mail, anyone connected to the Internet can send a message to any other computer with an Internet connection. E-mail programs vary from the simple, allowing only plain text messages, to the complex, allowing text formatting and images to be included in the message. Whatever e-mail program you use, the process of sending a message is the same:

How to send an e-mail message:

  1. First, open your e-mail program. This may be an application installed on your computer, or a Web site where you have an e-mail account.
  2. Type the e-mail address of person you are sending the message to in the To: box. An e-mail address consists of two parts: the person's user name and the domain name where the e-mail account is kept. bob@mycompany.com is an example of an e-mail address: bob is the user name; mycompany.com is the domain name.
  3. If you want to copy the message to additional recipients, type their e-mail addresses in the Cc: (carbon copy) or Bcc: (blind carbon copy) box. When you use the Bcc: box, other recipients of the e-mail won't know that this person received the e-mail as well.
  4. Type a brief description of what the e-mail is about in the Subject box.
  5. Now, type the text of the e-mail message. This is the body of the e-mail.
  6. If you want to send a file with the message, most programs allow you to include attachments. Recipients can open the attachment if their computer has software which can read the file type.
  7. Finally, click the Send button to send the e-mail.
Do not use ALL CAPS when writing an e-mail message. In Internet culture, writing in all caps is considered shouting and is extremely rude.
Microsoft Office applications like Word 2002, PowerPoint 2002, and Excel 2002 have a built-in connection to Microsoft Outlook. You can send documents directly from these applications by using the Send to command from the File menu.
Remember, e-mail is a less formal way of communicating than traditional letter writing. It is acceptable to take a more casual tone when writing e-mail messages—but still remember your spelling and grammar. Keep your messages brief and to the point.